Shang Xiaoyun is one of the representatives of Peking Opera in modern China, and is known as the "Four Famous Dans" along with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng. His lifelong artistic experience coincided with the heyday of Peking Opera in China, and he was a witness and participant in the middle and late history of Peking Opera. He entered the Beijing Sanle Science Class at the age of ten to attend the martial arts, later changed to Tsing Yi, Dao Ma Dan, after leaving the department in 1914, at the Beijing Tong Ling election conference, won the reputation of "Tong Ling King", he has a deep foundation, a wide voice, and a strong singing voice, known as the "Shang School". In the past 60 years of stage practice, he has created the art of the Peking Opera Shang School, which has a profound impact on later generations.
Shang Xiaoyun
Childish and hard, dropped out of school to pursue art
Shang Xiaoyun, formerly known as Shang Dequan, also known as Qixia, ancestral home in Nangong County, Hebei Province, was born on January 9, 1900 (the seventh day of the first month of the 25th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty) in the courtyard of the Caochang Temple in the north city of Beijing. His grandfather, Shang Zhiquan, was the county magistrate of Qingyuan County in the Qing Dynasty. Father Shang Yuanzhao, who was originally the husband of the Mongol palace of the Qing court, was promoted to the head of the palace because of his diligence. Mother Zhang gave birth to a daughter and five sons, and Mr. Shang is the second son. In 1905, his father died of illness, and the family's fortune was declining.
Mr. Shang attended a private school at the age of 5. The neighbor of the Shang family is a poor artist, and Mr. Shang has been exposed to the playing and singing skills of the old artist, and when his family is poor, he has the idea of dropping out of school to pursue art. The mother was reluctant to give up her young child, but when the family was faced with "no overnight food", she agreed to her son's request.
In the spring of 1907, Zhang led the 7-year-old Dequan and the 5-year-old Defu to beg Ye Chunshan, an Anhui artist in the "Xiliancheng" class, to take in the Shang brothers to learn art. Ye Chunshan visually inspected the Shang brothers and said, "It's not a material for learning art. Zhang also begged the famous Peking Opera artist Li Chunfu to take him in, and out of sympathy for Zhang, Li took in the Shang brothers and taught them to learn from the old students. Since then, Shang Xiaoyun has begun his bumpy literary career.
"The Legend of the White Snake" plays Xiaoqing, Mei Lanfang plays the White Lady, and Cheng Yanqiu plays Xu Xian
Admission to further study is good at diligence
In the process of coaching, Mr. Li Chunfu deeply felt that Shang Xiaoyun was sensitive and had great potential, so he recommended him to the "Three Music Society" founded by Li Jiliang, the nephew (stepson) of the Qing official eunuch Li Lianying, in order to make progress. At the behest of his mother, his younger brother Defu also entered the "Three Music Society" class with his brother. On April 15, 1907, the two brothers made a contract to become official students of this class. The "Sanle Society" class will arrange the stage name according to the word "three" for the new students who enter the club, and Shang Dequan will take the stage name "Sanxi".
Just joined the club, and the famous Peking Opera martial arts instructor Zhao Chunrui taught Shang Xi Wusheng. The requirements for taking the top, lower waist, splitting forks, consuming mountain arms, running round fields, blanket skills, handle skills, frame skills, water sleeve skills, Lingzi skills, hat skills, throwing hair skills, relying on skills, fan skills, etc., are very strict. Practice three dogs in summer, practice three nines in winter, and make rapid progress. Just nine months after Shang Dequan joined the company, he took the stage to perform the traditional Peking Opera repertoire "Zhengzhou Temple" as the protagonist Huang Tianba. But in the end, due to physical exhaustion, his acting skills continued to decline. Teacher Zhao Chunrui shook his head and sighed. Another teacher, Mr. Chen Si, suggested to Mr. Zhao Chunrui that Shang should change his education, and the class owner approved it. Li Jiliang then asked Tang Zhuting to teach Shang Dequan. Tang found that Shang Dequan's appearance resembled Sun Yiyun, a Peking Opera Danjiao, so he changed his stage name to "Xiaoyun". Since then, he has been known as a stage name.
The class calls learning drama "playing play". Students are beaten almost every day from the time they enter the course to the time they leave the course. He was beaten if he didn't do his work at home, he was beaten if he didn't meet the requirements for doing his work, and he was beaten if he had a loophole on stage...... Because of the beatings everywhere, the term in the troupe is called "open hall". The teacher often holds a ring square (more than a long ruler, a wide inch, and two or three minutes thick), one is used as a clapper to direct the rhythm of the singing; Second, it is used for corporal punishment of students.
Although Shang Xiaoyun is talented and intelligent in learning art, under the guidance of a teacher like Tang Zhuting, he still suffers from corporal punishment and beatings. At noon one day, Tang Zhuting rehearsed the play "Falling Garden" for Shang Xiaoyun. He hummed it demonstratively first, and then asked Xiaoyun to learn to sing. When Xiaoyun learned to sing, he sat on the chair with his eyes squinted, holding the ring and beating it with a clear eye, when he heard a sentence that Xiaoyun had not sung on time several times, he suddenly jumped like thunder, Huo Di got up from the ground, and reprimanded loudly: "You are stupid to death!" After that, Mr. Shang stabbed Mr. Shang in the abdomen with the ring, and because of the excessive force, the ring stabbed into the abdomen, and when Tang pulled out the ring, Mr. Shang's rectum was also exposed outside the abdomen with the ring, and the blood flowed like an infusion, and he fainted on the spot. The other students hurriedly carried Xiaoyun to the hospital for treatment, and although he was treated with timely medicine, he was left with the sequelae of lifelong hiccups.
Shang Xiaoyun has endured all kinds of hardships, but he has also honed his strong personality and perseverance. He likes Xunzi's wise saying of "perseverance, gold and stone can be carved", and believes that this is the necessary spirit to make a difference. During his recuperation, he still did not forget the main points taught by the teacher to sing, and hummed non-stop while pondering carefully. When he returned to school after recovering from his injury, he only studied it once or twice, and the teacher was very satisfied. Tang Zhuting asked in surprise, "Why did you kid learn so quickly this time?" Shang Xiaoyun replied; This is the result of the teacher's precept teaching. Teacher Tang said, "Xiaoyun, you are promising. ”
After Shang Xiaoyun changed his studies, he was diligent and studious, which attracted the attention of many famous artists. In addition to teacher Tang Zhuting, Sun Yiyun, Dai Yunfang, and Zhang Zhiquan have taught him Tsing Yi; Li Jingshan and Tian Guifeng taught him Hua Dan; Ding Liansheng and Zhang Zhulin taught him to be a sword; The class leader Li Jiliang also specially hired Fang Bingzhong, who taught Kunqu Opera in the Qing court, to teach him to sing Kunqu Opera. They taught by word and deed, and put a lot of effort into Shang Xiaoyun's continuous improvement of his acting skills.
Under the guidance of the above-mentioned Peking Opera masters, Shang Xiaoyun has made great progress in every artistic link such as singing, reading, doing, and playing, and has gradually formed a unique style that is different from the others. He pronounced his voice with a clear and agitated voice; In the pronunciation of words, free and easy, with sharp edges and corners, and soft and charming in the masculine; In terms of performance, he is bold and heroic, the round field is like a whirlwind in the wind, and the horse is like a desert eagle, which is full of brilliance and brilliance with his vigorous and turbulent singing voice, which is impressive. He is not only good at performing important singing plays such as "Sacrifice Tower", "Farewell Palace Sacrifice River", "Liberation", "Red-Maned Horse", etc., but also good at performing Wudan work dramas such as "Sizhou City", "Red Peach Mountain", "Attacking Tongguan" and "Taking Jinling"; She is also good at "Thirteen Sisters", "Mu Kezhai", "Liang Hongyu" and other women's heroic dramas that pay equal attention to singing and acting; and singing and dancing, an extraordinary Kunqu opera. What is even more commendable is that when Shang Xiaoyun starred in the whole play "The Legend of the Righteous Martyrs", at a young age, he was able to be unstoppable in civil and military affairs, and his performance showed his outstanding talent more and more, and was praised by many people as "walking alone in nine cities, and all people are overwhelmed". In this way, Shang Xiaoyun was soon known as the "Three Heroes of Zhengle" and regarded as "Corey Red" together with Zhao Tongshan (stage name Hibiscus Grass) and Xun Huisheng (stage name White Peony).
In the autumn of 1914, Beijing's Guohua Daily launched the "Tong Ling Campaign" for the Peking Opera industry, encouraging Beijing opera fans to vote for the role of Tong Ling they admired the most. As a result of the election, Shang Xiaoyun was elected as the first Tong Ling, and his reputation doubled, attracting the attention of Peking Opera masters.
In December of the same year, Peking Opera grandmaster Sun Juxian organized a fundraising charity performance, and it was difficult to find an ideal partner to perform on the same stage. The discerning Mr. Sun unexpectedly named Shang Xiaoyun, who was only 14 years old, to perform on the same stage with him. As a result, a well-known Peking Opera veteran and old worshipper in Yanbei, Jiangnan, and a budding Xiaodanjiao co-performed the traditional excerpt of Peking Opera "Three Niang's Godson" at the Qingyuan Theater, which provoked the audience like a cloud and the theater was full. With the enthusiastic encouragement and cooperation of Mr. Sun, Shang Xiaoyun's performance was a great success. For a time, he became a popular figure among Peking Opera lovers. This performance laid a good foundation for him to break out of the small stage of the class and enliven the big stage of society. However, at this time, there was an unfortunate accident in which the third brother Defu was beaten and died while studying drama in the class, which brought great grief to Shang Xiaoyun and the whole family.
"The Legend of the West Chamber" as Zhang Hui, Mei Lanfang as the matchmaker, and Cheng Yanqiu as Cui Yingying
Inherited from the predecessors and became a unique school
On August 17, 1916, Shang Xiaoyun, who had reached the age of 16, ended his life as a student and began a new page in his literary and artistic career. Leaving the class and going to society is a severe test for artists in the old society to make a living by selling their art independently. Is it to be a unique and outstanding artist, or to spend a dull time? Shang Xiaoyun was unswerving and chose the former. He once firmly told his mother: "My son seeks to learn art from a teacher and dedicates himself to the red tree, and one is to support himself through art, which is the so-called self-reliance; The second is not in the carelessness of the manipulation, but in the inaccuracy of the manipulation, if you can stand up and study diligently, the great emperor will have a blockbuster day. ”
After the news of Shang Xiaoyun's departure spread, those elites and celebrities in the theater world either visited him or sent invitations, and even asked him to perform on the same stage first. Out of his admiration for the famous masters of his predecessors, he first cooperated with the master Sun Juxian again. The old and the young performed in the Dangui Tea Garden Theater, and people competed to watch, and many people performed and watched.
Sun Juxian is proficient in the old student and the old Dan industry, his voice is high and clear, and many people comment that his singing voice has the power of "lingering sounds, three days endlessly". Emperor Guangxu respected Sun Juxian as the first person to be an old student and an old dan. Every time Sun Juxian sang, Emperor Guangxu personally sat in the orchestra pit and made an exception to play the board for him. This is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Shang Xiaoyun cooperated with the unique Sun Lao, who was both a partner and a student, and he gained a lot and benefited a lot in terms of ventilation and rhyme.
Shang Xiaoyun performed on the same stage with famous artists, showing his skills, attracting the attention of Yang Xiaolou, the "first martial artist in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China". Yang Xiaolou is not only good at martial arts, but also able to sing, which is very appreciated by the Empress Dowager Cixi. and often plays with Mr. Mei Lanfang. After watching Shang Xiaoyun's performance on the same stage with Sun Juxian and Gong Yunfu, he was extremely excited, and said to his close friends and Peking Opera colleagues: "Xiaoyun was born in a professional class, has talent and intelligence, and has excellent skills, and is a rare partner who will perform "Changban Slope" with me on the same stage. After Shang Xiaoyun heard Yang Xiaolou's admiration, he immediately came to visit and begged to co-star in the play. They hit it off at first sight and talked speculatively. Shang Xiaoyun regards a generation of grandmaster Yang Xiaolou as a good teacher, and Yang Xiaolou regards Shang Xiaoyun as a new generation of newcomers who are better than the blue. Since then, they have worked together to quickly arrange "Nagasaka Slope". Yang Xiaolou felt that Shang Xiaoyun had a solid foundation in rehearsals, and praised him: "My handy partners are only Qian Jinfu, Fan Baoting, Chi Yueting, and Xu Deyi. Today's cooperation with you, I feel that your skills are not below the above-mentioned people, and after we have lined up "Changban Slope" and "Xiangjiang Meeting", we will cross the Yangtze River and go to Shanghai. ”
At the beginning of November 1917, Yang Xiaolou, the famous martial artist of Peking Opera who was famous all over the country, and Tan Xiaopei, another famous old student who sang and acted at the same time, led two rookies Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng to perform in Shanghai, which attracted widespread attention from all parties. People praised the above-mentioned performance in Shanghai as "three small and one white to the south of the Yangtze River". They performed their own tricks on the first stage of Dangui in Shanghai, especially "Changban Slope" and "Xiangjiang Meeting" co-starred by Yang and Shang. Yang Xiaolou played the famous general Zhao Yun of the Three Kingdoms in the play "Changban Slope", and Shang Xiaoyun played the role of Liu Bei's wife, Mrs. Mi. This is a prominent traditional martial arts drama that shows the might of Zhao Yun and the heroic character of Mrs. Mi. In this play, Yang Xiaolou performed Zhao Yun's defeat of Cao Ying's famous general Zhang Tai, and rescued the young master Adou's "swallow manipulation water" style dance gun "unique activity"; Under the chase of Zhang Tai, Mrs. Mi performed by Shang Xiaoyun, and the circle that ran in panic was as fast as the wind, and every inch was not chaotic, which made the Shanghai audience full of eyes and praise. However, what made the audience applaud even more, and was surprised that Shang Xiaoyun was carefully guided by Yang Xiaolou, holding the child in his right hand, and hiding a flying arrow in his left sleeve. This instantaneous coherent action makes the audience have the true feeling that Zhang Tai shot Mrs. Mi with an arrow. At this point, many audience members left their seats to applaud his brilliant performance.
"Three Little and One White" went to Shanghai to perform more than 70 times, and the venue was full and popular. At that time, Beijing's "Shuntian Times" set aside a prominent page to report on the grand performance. In May 1918, the newspaper launched a voting campaign to select new Peking Opera talents. As a result of the selection, the 24-year-old Mei Lanfang won 232865 votes and was named the king of male actors; Liu Xikui, who is the same age as Mei Lanfang, won 228606 votes and was named the king of Kunling; 18-year-old Shang Xiaoyun won 152525 votes and was named the king of Tong Ling.
From 1918 to the 18 years before the Anti-Japanese War to prepare for the "Rongchun Society", he joined the "Tongxin Society", and cooperated with Wang Youchen, Gong Yunfu, Shen Huaxuan, Xun Huisheng, Xu Deyi, Hao Shouchen, etc., and performed "Cailou Pei", "Shilang Visits the Mother" and other plays; Joined the "Tongxin Society" and cooperated with Yang Xiaolou, Gao Qingkui, Xun Huisheng, Li Shunting, Qian Jinfu, Xu Deyi, Chi Yueting, etc., and performed "Female Liberation" and "Wujia Po" and other plays; entered the "Fuqing Society" and performed with Zhu Suyun, Ci Ruiquan, Tan Xiaopei, Gong Yunfu, etc., "Drunk", "Zhan Puguan" and other plays; entered the "Yuhua Society" and performed with Wang Yaoqing, Mei Lanfang, Ma Lianliang, Tan Xiaopei, etc., "Baolian Lantern", "Red-Maned Horse", "Garden Nightmare" and other plays; Entered the "Shuangqing Society" and performed "Thirteen Sisters" and "Fenhe Bay" with Xiao Cuihua, Xiao Zhenting, Jiang Miaoxiang and others. In 1925, Shang Xiaoyun set up his own "Xieqing Society" (later changed to "Chongqing Society", "Rongchun Society" ended before its establishment), and successively invited Hou Xirui, Zhu Suyun, Yan Jupeng, Ma Lianliang, Jiang Shaokui, Fan Baoting, Shang Fuxia, Ma Fulu, Ru Fulan and other members of the society to perform on the same stage. It is particularly worth mentioning that Shang Xiaoyun's father-in-law, Mr. Li Shoushan, is not only the backbone of the founding of the "Xieqing Society", but also the teacher of this class. After the establishment of the "Xieqing Society", Shang Xiaoyun successively participated in the main repertoire of performances: "Leifeng Pagoda", "Da Dengdian", "Shuangguan Huan", "Spring and Autumn Match", "Tianhe Match", "Fishing and Killing Home" and so on.
After Shang Xiaoyun left the department, he performed on the same stage with many famous artists, exchanged skills, and incorporated the strengths of all families, and gradually formed a unique style of combining rigidity and softness, which was recognized and praised by the Peking Opera industry and all aspects of society. In February 1924, when Beijing's "Shuntian Times" launched the selection of the "Four Famous Dans", the 24-year-old Shang Xiaoyun was not only selected along with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng, but also ranked second. The emergence of the "Four Famous Dans" marks the formation of four schools with very different artistic characteristics. The majority of audiences summarized the artistic styles of the "Four Famous Dans" as follows: the Mei School is dignified and luxurious, the Shang School is graceful and robust, the Cheng School is subtle and deep, and the Xun School is charming and lively. Since then, Shangpai art has stood in the forest of Peking Opera with its own unique style.
"Thirteen Sisters" as He Yufeng
Shang School art is both civil and military
It has been more than 70 years since Pi Huang Opera was born from the Hui class in 1840 to form Peking Opera, and Shang Xiaoyun has been out of the department. During this period, such as Cheng Changgeng, Lu Shengkui, Zhang Erkui, Wang Yaoqing, Gong Yunfu, Lu Sanbao, Yang Xiaolou, Tan Jinpei and other predecessors in the Peking Opera industry, continued to add luster to Peking Opera in terms of performance, singing, recitation, music, costumes, etc. However, any art always accompanies the pace of history, carries forward the past and forges ahead into the future, and develops and improves. This requires a generation of newcomers to inherit the glorious tradition of this drama genre, inherit the past, bring forth the new, and make a difference. It is precisely in accordance with this law of artistic development that Mr. Shang Xiaoyun formed his own genre and made important contributions to the development of Peking Opera.
The genre of performing arts in Chinese opera is aimed at the program, and the program is the basis for the emergence of the genre. Genre is the systematic change and development of actors' duet singing, reading, doing, and playing programs, forming their own unique artistry and a number of brilliant representative repertoire, thus causing those who love to be deep and those who follow it like a stream. The personality of Shangpai art is also reflected in singing, reading, doing, and playing.
All operas must be sung. Any type of drama relies heavily on singing to express the ideological content and character emotions of the script. Therefore, in Chinese opera, the four skills and five methods (the four skills are singing, reading, doing, and playing; The five methods are oral methods, techniques, eye methods, body methods, and footwork), and singing skills are in the first place. Before and after Shang Xiaoyun left the department, he was taught by famous teachers such as Sun Yiyun, Dai Yunfang, Lu Sanbao, Zhang Zhiquan, Li Shoushan, Wang Yaoqing, etc., who could organically cooperate the pronunciation and resonance of the throat, mouth and nasal cavity with the control of breath. Because he is diligent and studious, he insists on adjusting his voice, and has mastered the scientific pronunciation method of storing qi in the chest and abdomen and manipulating the breathing in the lower abdomen. The reason why he can collect and release many large sections of singing and opera, can be high and low, can be rigid and soft, and works both Tsing Yi and Hua Dan and Dao Ma Dan is because he has studied hard, has proper methods, and has sufficient strength. "The Legend of the White Snake" is a traditional Peking Opera drama that attaches equal importance to both civil and military affairs, and has a variety of tones. As the saying goes, "Men are afraid of Xipi, women are afraid of Erhuang", but when the whole "Legend of the White Snake" is performed in the scene of "Sacrifice Tower", the actor who plays the White Lady is required to fully express the character's grief and indignation in the form of "Erhuang" and "Anti-Huang" with a large span and high tune. For Peking Opera performers, including many artists, either because of their poor skills or because of their insufficient singing skills, they only choose performances that are suitable for their personal advantages, and do not dare to risk the full performance. As far as the "Four Famous Dans" are concerned, Mei Lanfang only plays "Water Manjin Mountain" to "Broken Bridge", Xun Huisheng only plays "White Lady Descending the Mountain" to "Hebo", and Cheng Yanqiu plays a scene of "Sacrifice Tower" alone; Only Shang Xiaoyun finished the whole "Legend of the White Snake" from beginning to end because of his solid young skills, outstanding martial arts and his "steel throat and iron voice". This is extremely valuable. Throughout the play, Mr. Shang, who plays the main role of the White Lady, can reasonably dispatch different voices and well grasp the transition of the high, middle and low tones. When performing a scene of "Sacrifice Tower", Shang Xiaoyun was full of resentment that the white lady was pressed under the Leifeng Tower, lost her freedom, and hated evil. Among the nearly 100 lyrics of this scene, each sentence is sung differently; Each sound is intertwined with the character's inner emotions. In the first few sentences, it seems to be low, but when singing to the sentences such as "It's like mid-air" and "Emei Mountain's hard cultivation", the singing method of "high and high" is more pleasant, such as the flat ground protruding wind and clouds, such as the river embankment bursting, the palace is full of tune, and the grief expresses the white lady's hatred for Fahai and her nostalgia for her husband and Jiao'er.
Shang Xiaoyun's performance of "The Legend of the White Snake" reflects his pronunciation skills and vocal skills and strong and graceful singing style from one side. However, as the essence of Shangpai singing, it is to pay attention to "singing as you like", through different forms and different vocal areas, singing the character of the character and the specific mood in a specific environment. After Shang Xiaoyun left the department, he was very interested in the "Ming Xinjian" written in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. He was particularly touched by the "face-like heart" mentioned in the book: he believed that the external joy, hatred, sadness, and anger were a reflection of the inner laughter, irritability, mourning, and annoyance, and all kinds of vocal expressions came from the heart. The so-called "every voice comes out of the mouth, if you don't have the intention of the heart, you can't cut it." "A play "Shiro Visits His Mother", which is often performed by various troupes, and often watched by the audience, is not uncommon, but as soon as Princess Tiejing appeared on the stage, she sang "Peony opens, peony is released, and the flower is red; The treatment of the three words "good spring" in "sunny day, good spring, and noisy birds" is different from the others. In order to reflect the cheerful mood of Princess Tiejing's marriage to Yang Shilang, Mr. Shang raised the tone on the word "good", breaking the convention, which was very appreciated by the audience. Another example is the "trial" scene of the drama "Yutang Chun", Su Sangang sang the loose board as soon as he appeared on the stage, "I came to look up at the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which scared me and my heart was cold", the general actors sang the word "heart" with a high tone and dragged it out, but Shang Xiaoyun started from the character's mood in a state of fear and treated it with a low tone and weak voice, which is more in line with the character's inner activities. In short, Shang Xiaoyun learned from others in the handling of the character's singing voice, and designed different singing voices for different roles, avoiding the rigid mode of one thousand people and one hundred people, which is the shining point and artistic destination of Shang Pai's singing.
Niangong, also known as Nianbai (to say white), is an important part of the art of opera. If an actor can't grasp the pronunciation well, he will not be able to express the emotions of the characters in the play to the audience. Shang Xiaoyun's Jingbai, thanks to the Wang (Yaoqing) faction, is more frank. Although Yunbai is mainly based on traditional reading, it can be breathed according to the characters' thoughts and feelings, from the change of tone, a sentence is not finished, the next is transferred, and the transition between the words seems to be broken, which is borrowed from the evolution of the Yang (Xiaolou) school. His rhyme is full of eloquence and sincerity, reflecting the inner activities of the characters from the combination of expression and tone. In the play "Zhuo Wenjun", when Sima Xiangru read "I am pretending to be a dragon like a dragon, pretending to be a tiger like a tiger", Zhuo Wenjun replied, "I am marrying a chicken with a chicken, and marrying a dog with a dog." Mr. Shang's tone of this confession was sonorous and powerful, accompanied by the expression of his eyebrows flying, which was really rippling in the spring breeze, and vividly brought out the sincere feelings of the newlyweds. Shang Xiaoyun played Ma Jinding in the drama "Ba Luohe". When Ma scolded her husband, she shrugged her shoulders first, and then said: "Look at your bones, I am unlucky to marry you!" Immediately afterwards, he stomped his feet with an "ouch", showing Ma Jinding's heart-wrenching and ignorant and pungent character. It is not difficult to see that Shang Xiaoyun Nianbai not only achieves the body, mouth and feet, but also can highlight the characteristics of hearty words and overflowing feelings.
Doing gong is the so-called style, which is as important as singing. As an opera, it is not only an experiential art, but also a performing art, with both inner experience and physical expression. It requires the actor to play what the character is thinking in his heart and use an accurate program to express it. Moreover, the experience of the entire mental activity and the performance of the physical action are obviously with a sense of rhythm, rhythm, music, and dance. If the actor is not skilled, the program is a heavy burden. On the one hand, they have to experience the emotions of the characters, and on the other hand, they have to think a lot about the form, specifications, and dimensions of the program, and often take care of one at the expense of the other. Shang Xiaoyun insists on combining inner experience with external performance, which makes his style have two major characteristics.
The first is to make full use of the program, that is, from life, through the artistic exaggeration and the formation of a school program, pay attention to the strength of the heart to guide the action, so that people feel that the fake drama is really done, pretending to be a dragon like a dragon, pretending to be a tiger like a tiger, the poor and the rich can be performed. In the Tsing Yi drama "Cosmic Edge" and "Fushou Mirror", there are "crazy" performances. These two plays are often performed by Shang Xiaoyun. Zhao Yanrong's "madness" in "Cosmic Edge" is "pretending to be crazy", in terms of performance, it is relatively easy, because "pretending to be crazy" is simply "fake crazy", and there are things that are not quite like "crazy" in the performance, and the audience can forgive them. The "madness" of Hu in "Fushou Mirror" is really "crazy", and the requirements for performance are different, the actors must not only be "like", but also "god-like", and reflect Hu's intricate mentality changes from "anxious" to "surprised", and "crazy" because of "surprise". Shang Xiaoyun made full use of the water sleeve skills and changes in his eyes of "floating and spinning back to the snow lightly, and sending the dragon to frighten him", as well as the dance-style "rubbing steps", "trembling steps", "tending steps" and other programs with large amplitude and fast rhythm, which showed the mental state of the people in the play appropriately. For example, when playing the "Thief Order" scene in the play "Shiro Visits the Mother", the general actor plays the princess of Tiejing, and after deceiving the arrow, he immediately sings "Xipi Rocking Board": "My mother fell into her daughter's clever ......" The singing sound lands, that is, it ends with a basic turning program. When Shang Xiaoyun used the program of turning around and leaving the game, starting from the inner emotions of the character, after getting the arrow, he first smiled at the audience, and then sang "Xipi Rocking Board", and after the word "Guan" fell, he threw the arrow, flipped it over, and then turned around and left. This made full use of the program to deceive Princess Tiejing into being her husband Yang Yanhui, so that she could return to the joy of Song Tan's mother unhindered, and show herself vividly.
The second is to enrich the program and give the program new vitality. He is well aware that the opera program originates from life, so he is good at capturing the things related to acting in life, so as to create a new comedy program that is recognized by people. Shang Xiaoyun's residence is a commonplace courtyard house in Beijing. In winter, family members splash water in the courtyard casually, often forming a thin layer of ice, walking on the ice, often falling "butt seat". Shang Xiaoyun observed this scene, patted his head, and said to himself: "Understood! The muddy ground and the smooth ice ground turned out to be a truth, and this can be used in the performance of the play "Imperial Tablet Pavilion". He observed in his life the phenomenon of pedestrians falling due to the smooth ground, and through artistic processing, he carefully designed the "Shang's Three Sliding Steps" of the play "Imperial Tablet Pavilion". This play is written: the heroine Meng Yuehua went to Beijing to take the exam with her husband Wang Youdao, leaving her and her sister-in-law to take care of housework, and suddenly received an urgent letter from her biological father who was sick on the Qingming Festival. Meng Yuehua was anxious to visit her father, and she was anxious to rest assured that she couldn't leave her young sister-in-law, so she didn't dare to stay at her mother's house for a long time. After visiting his father and worshipping his ancestors, he quickly returned to his mother-in-law's house. Unexpectedly, on the way back, the weather changed abruptly, thunderstorms, and had to be thrown into the Imperial Tablet Pavilion to hide from the rain. Shang Xiaoyun plays Meng Yuehua, anxious, running to the pavilion to avoid the rain, singing "Xipi Rocking Board" during the march: "When I go out, I encounter the heavy rain ...... the sky" At the same time, he constantly waved his water sleeves to show shelter from the rain, and used three different types of sliding steps: one is called "forward planting", which makes people feel that the character is running on a smooth and muddy road, with unstable legs and a forward plant; The second is called "post-flash", but the character's feet slip, his body flashes back, and he is about to fall to the ground; The third is called "long step", the character has gone through "forward planting" and "back flashing", although he struggled, he finally lost his balance, only to see his legs stretched forward, his buttocks to the ground, and he slid from one corner of the stage to the other. These three different sliding steps, interlocking and deepening step by step, have both the realism of life and the exaggerated virtual beauty of stage art. These are all unprecedented traditional programs, newly created by Shang Xiaoyun's observation of life.
Martial arts is also a very artistic discipline of Peking Opera. There are many sets of martial arts, and they show a variety of different battle scenes. All sets, whether they are land battles, or immediate confrontations, overturning rivers and seas, must rely on the actors' martial arts skills to perform, so that the audience has a thrilling and immersive feeling. Among the "Four Famous Dans", Shang Xiaoyun's martial arts kung fu is the first place.
Shang Xiaoyun's martial arts, and his ability to sing, have become the two pillars of Shang School art. His martial arts have absorbed more of Yang Xiaolou's strengths. He admired Yang Xiaolou the most in his life, and learned Yang Xiaolou unabashedly: he not only melted the skills of the Yang faction such as "cover step", "trembling step", "tending step" and "rubbing step" into the martial arts of Danjiao, but also marked the Yang faction's "big pull", "round field" and "crisp and stable", "fast and slow" demeanor more obviously. Form your own martial arts style. To summarize Shang Xiaoyun's martial arts art, there are outstanding characteristics in the following aspects:
First, the work is excellent, and the immediate work is unique. Relying on martial arts is much more complicated than short fights. The actors on the stage not only have to fight against the hostile side with swords and guns, but also take into account the feathers on their heads, the flag on their backs, or the belt around their waists. But Shang Xiaoyun's swordsman's plays, such as "Xiangjiang Meeting", "Zhan Jinshan", "Qin Liangyu", etc., are quite powerful. The swift turn like a whirlwind, the broken steps like grinding gold and jade, and the appearance of a jade tree in the wind, all made the audience breathe and praise. What's even more commendable is that in terms of arranging the way of playing, Mei and Cheng in the "Four Famous Dans" are mainly guns, and they are still using big knives in the play "Yun Qi Niang". Although Mei and Cheng's martial arts opponents are good actors, Jing is not a martial arts actor. For example, when Mei Lanfang played "Mulan in the Army" and "Anti-Jin Soldiers", Liu Lianrong, who played the Turkic King and the Golden Vulture Technique, was a shelf-faced; And the actors who played the martial arts drama for Shang were famous martial arts students Fan Baoting, Yang Chunlong, etc., which made them all invincible and saw their own kung fu.
Unlike male generals, female generals can not appear in a "big squat" style to show riding a horse, but can only use two slightly arched "female riding style" to perform horse fighting, therefore, the squatting amplitude is small, and it is easy to shake or not stand. And Shang Xiaoyun was instructed by Yang Xiaolou, and after hard training, he created the "Jinsa Flower Pier", and after the unmoving gun, he "made a unique appearance on horseback with a frustrated waist". Shang Xiaoyun not only appeared outstandingly immediately, but was also good at fighting immediately. In the play "Qin Liangyu", he fought against Fan Baoting, who played the role of Breaking the Ground, and when he was picked off the horse by Qin Liangyu, he rolled twice on the spot, and the action was fast; And Qin Liangyu, who he plays, wants to stab the collapsed sky to death immediately in the rhythm of gongs and drums, this figure is not only fast, but also to distinguish one on a horse and one on a fallen horse.
The second is to combine the identity of the characters and display their martial arts skills. In the process of martial arts in each play, Shang Xiaoyun insists on starting from the characters and the plot, and never simply performs and departs from the plot. He played He Yufeng's "snatching the knife" in "Nengren Temple", and Ma Jinding's big lever in "Ba Luohe", all of which have a family and a law, serving to portray the character and deepen the theme of the script. In "Ba Luohe", Ma Jinding played a big lever because his son was stabbed to death and was eager for revenge, but he hadn't used martial arts for many years, so he tried his potential with a few tricks. Ma Jinding is a 40-year-old woman in the play, and the stick is heavy, so she can't help but practice so that she can know herself and her opponent. Shang Xiaoyun acted in this play, by no means like some actors, as long as the audience applauded, he would never finish; He played a big lever, and he was indeed in the play, and he was on point. At the end of each year, various opera troupes perform anti-string martial arts or martial arts dramas, such as Huang Tianba in "Year L Wax Temple", according to the martial arts acting method, meticulous. Shi Xiu, who played "Cuiping Mountain", in the two scenes of "Playing Liuhe Knife in the Restaurant" and "Killing the Mountain", was fumigated with alcohol, his face was full of anger, and he pointed angrily at the temples. In the scene of "Killing the Mountain", he sang "Hua Bangzi" to play with the knife, splitting the wind and lightning, the kung fu was amazing, and he jumped into a few "jumpers", and the knife edge was chopped, and the momentum was like hanging in the air. Every time you play this play. Xiao Cuihua as Pan Qiaoyun, Hou Chunrui as Yang Xiong, and Shang Xiaoyun as Shi Xiu.
Fang Bin, a Peking Opera critic in the early Republic of China, published an article entitled "Gelu Talks about Xiaoyun" in the "Ten Days Drama Magazine", writing: "Shang Xiaoyun typhoon is solemn in appearance and vigorous in demeanor. Although its body movements are a little fast, they are not aware of its lightness and dexterity because of their strong sense of gravity, and only sometimes feel that they are lively and simple little women's ears. He also said that Shang's voice was "rigid and round, refined and bright, like the sound of steel and thick, like the sound of stone and high-pitched, and the sound of solemnity, chastity, quietness, elegance and generosity." said that his singing skills were "not tricky, no flowers". For Nianbai, he believes that "the words are carefully considered, and the words seem to have a thousand weights, but still do not lose the natural rhyme, and the sound of Zhongzhou is used in the play, so it is not a major disease." He believes that Shang Xiaoyun is "authentic in Tsing Yi, and the ability of music and drama can imperceptibly transform people's nature and spirit." These evaluations are a more appropriate summary of Shang Xiaoyun's singing, reading, doing, and playing skills.
"Jinshan Temple" as Xiaoqing
Diligent creation, bold innovation
Shang Xiaoyun was released on the eve of the May Fourth Movement. The May Fourth New Culture Movement promoted the development of Peking Opera art, and the emergence of the "Four Famous Dans" prompted Peking Opera to enter a new period of prosperity. On the one hand, the "Four Famous Dans" learn from each other and form friendships; On the one hand, there is no compromise in art. In terms of acting, Mei Lanfang's "Red Line Thief Box" has just come out, and Cheng Yanqiu's "The Legend of the Red Breeze", Shang Xiaoyun's "Red Silk", and Xun Huisheng's "Red Lady" have also appeared on stage one after another. The "Four Famous Dans" also have a repertoire ending with the word "sword", Mei has "A Sword" (that is, the universe edge), there is still "Emei Sword", Cheng has "Qingshuang Sword", and Xun has "Mandarin Duck Sword" (that is, Red Mansion Eryou). At the same time, each of the four grandmasters also has a Danjiao anti-string play: Mei has "Mulan in the Army", Shang has "Pearl Fan", Cheng has "Nie Yinniang", and Xun has "Xun Guanniang". The appearance of the "Four Reds", "Four Swords", and "Four Anti-Skewers", which have considerable artistic quality, is neither a coincidence nor a joke, but a competition between them. It is precisely in this kind of competition that Shang Xiaoyun has made outstanding contributions to the art of Peking Opera. To sum up, there are the following aspects:
(1) Create and write new dramas. In the performance practice after leaving the department, Shang Xiaoyun deeply felt that the script is the foundation of the comprehensive art of opera. In addition to having the skills to do what he can and what others cannot do, any famous dramatist must also conscientiously write new scripts with good themes, new ideas, a strong sense of the times, and "edutainment." Therefore, after the May Fourth Movement, with the rise of the New Culture Movement, he invited Xun Shuxi, Qingyi Jushi Puxu, Zhuang Yunkuan, Li Shoumin, etc., who were knowledgeable, quick-witted, and good at script writing, to assist him in writing and adapting new plays.
Shang Xiaoyun's creation can be divided into two categories: one is to adapt traditional scripts, revise and rearrange old plays with poor content or about to be lost, so that old plays can be performed anew, so that the audience is refreshed. There are 18 adapted scripts of this genre, including "Zhan Shujuan", "Fan Jiangguan", "Xiangjiang Meeting", "Liang Hongyu", etc. The second is to insist on eliminating evil and promoting good, and write scripts that reflect the politics, morality, family, customs, and folk customs of ancient and modern societies. For example, the scripts that praise the national spirit and advocate the protection of the country and the people include "Concubine Han Ming", "Northern Beauty", "Nineteen Heroes of Qingcheng", etc.; Against feudal ethics and morality. Scripts advocating the freedom of marriage include "Zhuo Wenjun" and "Pipa Yuan"; Scripts that praise justice and loyalty, and do not compromise with the powerful include "Blood Splashed Pear Flower Pavilion", "Woman in Green", "Lin Siniang", etc.; The scripts that praise fortitude include "Emei Sword", "Dragon Girl Shepherd", "Flounder", etc.; The scripts that advocate honoring parents and carrying forward national virtues include "A Thousand Daughters and Virtues", "Jieyu as a Bear", "The Legend of Tiger Milk and Flying Immortals" and so on. Shang Xiaoyun has created a total of 35 new dramas, ranking first among the "Four Famous Dans".
Shang Xiaoyun's creative attitude is serious and serious. The play "Beauty in the North" is about Outer Mongolia. Before creating and rehearsing this play, in addition to visiting experts, he spared no time and money to visit many famous temples, so that the scenes and characters in the play have been verified. Once, he took out a copy of "Ma Siyuan: The Story of Two Bells" to his friend Weng Duohong and said to Weng: "Although the price of this album is expensive, I have solved a problem from the album. You see Zhao Yuer combing the flag head and wearing a flag costume, that's right. I often hear the old-timers say: When I acted in this drama back then, it was originally a flag dress, which was in line with the facts at that time. Later, the banner people taboo and insult the flag people, and the group of accusations, so they changed the 'big head' and made the dress of Han women. I have often doubted this legend, and now that this book proves it, the ancients did not dare to deceive it. ”
In order to create, Shang Xiaoyun purchased a private art palace in 1923 at No. 2 Tiao, Chunshuxia, Beijing, which was dedicated to creating and meeting guests. This art palace from north to south is divided into three rooms: "Fang Xin Zhai" in the north, "Jianyun Book House" in the east, and "Shi Zhuxuan" in the west. The east wall of "Fang Xin Zhai" hangs a huge horizontal plaque of Yunlong Yellow Silk Thread, and there are four big characters of Prince Cheng's handwriting, "Guan Ling Qunfang". On the west wall, there are portraits of heroines and emperors of the past dynasties presented by a certain Baylor. On several tables, there are jade chimes in emerald bottles, crystal plates, Song porcelain "Dingding", and Ming porcelain "Jihong". the "rain over the azure" of the firewood kiln, the "Kangxi Wucai" of the official kiln, etc.; "Jianyun Book House" is a special room for Shang Xiaoyun to read books and study historical customs; "Shi Zhuxuan" is a special room for Shang Xiaoyun to practice drumming, playing pipa, learning painting, and practicing calligraphy.
He can play the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, all of them. He is good at painting flowers, and he is better at painting orchids and Ganoderma lucidum. On his 40th birthday, Wang Yaoqing, Wang Fengqing, Yu Shuyan, Shi Huibao, Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng, Wang Qinyi, Huang Guiqiu, Jiang Miaoxiang, etc., divided into 12 paintings and calligraphy to celebrate his birthday. His handwriting is copied from Wang Yangming, and he likes to write the famous sentence "the most difficult wind and rain come to the old people". Invite close friends, sit and talk, or paint inscriptions, so as to nourish the mind.
has a wide range of hobbies, which is very beneficial to Shang Xiaoyun's script creation. He often said to his friends: "Every time I write a play, a small stage appears in my mind, and many characters in the play are moving on the stage; It is natural to take into account the position of these characters on the stage and the rhythm of singing, reading, doing, playing and the accompanying gongs and drums. ”
(2) Inheritance and innovation. On the basis of inheriting the tradition of Peking Opera, Shang Xiaoyun combined with his own conditions, absorbed the strengths of his brother opera arts, and enriched the expression techniques of Peking Opera. In the repertoire of "The Legend of the White Snake", "Princess Shuangyang" and "Concubine Han Ming", he designed two singing voices of Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera respectively according to the personality of the characters and the emotions in different scenes, so that the above repertoire not only retains the characteristics of Peking Opera, but also makes the characteristics of Kunqu Opera singing and dancing at the same time, and the lingering and delicate singing characteristics can be fully exerted in the play. Beijing and Kunrong are integrated, which is rare before and after Shang Xiaoyun is discharged.
Shang Xiaoyun often said: "Several of our "four famous Dans" are friends and opponents on stage, and no one is far behind. I have learned a truth from long-term performances: if any art wants to develop, it must be innovative; If you want to compete, you have to be unique, have your own 'unique work', and it is difficult for art to exist and develop without innovation and distinctive personality characteristics. It is precisely because of the spirit of daring to innovate that Shang Xiaoyun created the "horse trip" in the play "Zhaojun Out of the Stopper"; the "Sword Dance" in the two plays "Red Silk" and "Lin Siniang": the "Fan Dance" in the play "Jieyu as a Bear", etc.; These add color to the art of the Shang School.
"The Peony Pavilion" as Liu Mengmei
Establish a class to cultivate new talents
On March 15, 1936, the "Rongchun Society" founded by Shang Xiaoyun was established. hired Peking Opera master Zhao Yankui as president; He is the honorary president.
Shang Xiaoyun lived in a house with a three-entry courtyard under the Chunshu tree outside the Xuanwu Gate. With no official funding and no foreign aid, he used more than 20 houses, including Chunshu Toutiao, East Chunshu Henghutong, and Xicaochang, as school sites and student dormitories. This is how Coban was founded.
The "Rongchun Society" class employs more than 50 teachers at most, divided into three categories: one is famous actors, such as Shang Heyu, Cheng Jixian, Xiao Cuihua, Wang Fengqing, Yan Lanqiu, Dai Yunfang, Li Hongchun, Yu Yongli, Luo Wenkui, Qian Fuchuan, Guo Chunshan, etc. He is the backbone teacher of the "Rongchun Society" class. The second is the famous actors who have performed in the "Chongqing Society" by monk Xiaoyun, such as Song Futing, Gao Fuyuan, Gao Fuquan, Sun Shengwen, Fan Baoting, Shen Fugui, etc. The third is a martial arts coach who is good at tumbling and falling.
The 12-year-old "Rongchun Society" has a total enrollment of 520 students, which is unique in the history of opera education in old China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many students of the "Rongchun Society" became the backbone of Peking Opera art. Such as Ma Changli, Wang Rongzeng, Zhou Zhongchun and now Liang Xiujuan in Taiwan.
In order to make "Rongchun Du" exist for a long time, Shang Xiaoyun worked day and night, and did not hesitate to sell his property. But by April 1948, prices had skyrocketed, and the people were struggling to make a living, and the "Rongchun Society" could no longer be maintained anyway. On May 2, 1948, Shang Xiaoyun waved tears to all the teachers and students and exclaimed that "the plan is in the people, and the success is in the sky", announcing the dissolution of the "Rongchun Society".
In May 1950, the Beijing Municipal People's Government approved the establishment of the Shang Xiaoyun Troupe. Fang Yingpei, Shen Fugui, Li Mingsheng, Wang Shaofang and other Peking Opera masters were invited to join the troupe.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shang Xiaoyun and his troupe faced the masses and performed in the north and south.
Shang Xiaoyun went to the ancient capital of Xi'an to perform in 1951 and 1957, and the leading comrades of Shaanxi Province and Xi'an City mobilized him to transfer to Shaanxi, and humorously pleaded with him: "Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage moved Zhuge Liang, and our plea can also move you, Mr. Shang." In January 1959, Shang Xiaoyun led the troupe and his family to leave Beijing by train to the ancient capital of Xi'an.
In 1964, the Shaanxi Provincial Peking Opera Company was established, with Shang Xiaoyun as the president, and was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Xi'an Film Studio made his signature programs "Zhaojun Out of the Plug" and "Crazy with a Lost Child" into opera films, and also filmed a documentary "Shang Xiaoyun's Stage Art", which has become a precious art material for the country.
"Qiankun Fushou Mirror" as Hu Shi
Seishi Names
Due to his devastation, his kidney disease became more and more serious, so he went to Beijing for treatment at the end of 1975.
At 3 o'clock on April 19, 1976, Shang Xiaoyun's heart stopped beating, and a brilliant and dazzling star in the Chinese national art scene fell. Before dying, he sighed, "Cherish the day and the year, there are many hatreds!" ”
After the "Gang of Four" was crushed, under the policy of the Party Central Committee to "put things in order and clean up the roots", the art of the Shang School also regained its brilliance. In September 1980, the Ministry of Culture of the Central Committee decided to relocate Shang Xiaoyun's ashes to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing. On October 30, Mr. Shang Xiaoyun's memorial service was held in Beijing Babaoshan Cemetery.
When we met again in Beijing in 1976, we were happy and sorrowful, hugged each other and wept, talked on our knees, and talked heartily to each other. Unexpectedly, not long after he returned to Xi'an this time, the bad news of his long death came! Looking at the clouds in the west, grief is unbearable, I once had a poem to sacrifice:
The sky is cloudy and the earth is in trouble, and they are crying happily.
The stunner is melancholy, and he can't see it on Chang'an Road!
(Source: Phoenix Hebei Comprehensive Finishing)