On January 7, 1900, Shang Xiaoyun was born in the Caochang compound of Fatong Temple in Andingmen, Beijing.
In 1905, 5-year-old Shang Xiaoyun began to study in a private school, but soon after his father died of illness, the family gradually became depressed.
In 1907, due to the poverty of his family, his mother Zhang took him and his third brother Shang Defu to learn art from Peking Opera artist Li Chunfu as a teacher and learn from old students; On April 15, under the recommendation of Li Chunfu, Shang Xiaoyun entered the "Three Music Society" class founded by Li Jiliang, the stepson of Li Lianying, a eunuch in the Qing court, to learn Peking Opera Wusheng, with the stage name "Sanxi" and the teacher Zhao Chunrui.
In 1908, a few months after Shang Xiaoyun learned martial arts, he made his debut in the Peking Opera "Mozhou Temple" and played the protagonist Huang Tianba; In the same year, Li Jiliang, the head of the "Three Music Club", accepted the suggestion of Chen Si, a flower-faced teacher, and asked Shang Xiaoyun to change his Danjiao to Tang Zhuting. Tang Zhuting saw that Shang Xiaoyun's face resembled Peking Opera actor Sun Yiyun, so he changed his stage name to "Shang Xiaoyun".
In 1909, he still learned Peking Opera such as "Cai Lou Pei", "Luhua River" and "Erjin Palace" from Tang Zhuting.
In 1910, due to a mistake in the rehearsal of the Peking Opera "Falling Garden", Tang Zhuting inserted a ring ruler into the lower abdomen of the right rib, resulting in the sequelae of lifelong hiccups.
In 1911, he went to Tianjin Guanghelou Theater with the "Three Music Society" to perform, and the repertoire included "Farewell Palace Sacrifice River", "Mulberry Garden Meeting", "Cinnabar Mole", "Luhua River" and so on.
From March to April 1912, he co-performed the Peking Opera "Luhua River" with Zhao Fengming in Beijing; In October, he starred in the Peking Opera "Farewell to the River", and so far, Shang Xiaoyun has gradually attracted attention in the Peking Opera industry.
In January 1913, Shang Xiaoyun's "Sanle Society" was renamed "Zhengle Society", with Sun Peiting as the class leader; In October, he co-starred with Wang Sanhei and Shen Sanyu in the Peking Opera "Changbanpo" in Qianmen Waimin Paradise, which attracted a lot of attention, and Shang Xiaoyun, Zhao Tongshan and Xun Huisheng were called "Zhengle Three Heroes" by the Peking Opera industry.
In April 1914, he performed the Peking Opera "Jiaxing Mansion" and "Thousand Miles of Horses" with Wang Sanhei, Liu Fengkui and Gao Yuexia in Minyuan; On June 6, he and Xun Huisheng and others performed the Peking Opera "Buddhism Gate Dianyuan" in Jixiangyuan; From August 12th to 13th, he co-starred with Sun Juxian in the Peking Opera "Three Niang's Godson" and "Cinnabar Mole", which was appreciated by Sun Juxian; In the same year, Beijing's "Guohua Daily" held a Tong Ling election campaign, and Shang Xiaoyun was elected "Tong Ling King".
In 1915, Shang Xiaoyun's repertoire gradually increased, and he successively performed Peking Opera "Zhan Puguan", "Sacrifice Tower", "Sanniang's Godson", "Cosmic Front", "Taking Jinling" and so on.
In January 1916, he co-starred with Sun Juxian in the Dangui Tea Garden in the Peking Opera "Judging the Head Thorn Soup"; On August 17, the "Zhengle Club" was suspended, Shang Xiaoyun was discharged, and since then, he has performed more classes; In September, he and Sun Juxian performed the Peking Opera "Three Niang's Godson", "Judging the Thorn Soup", "Cinnabar Mole" and so on in the Dangui Tea Garden again; In October, he performed the Peking Opera "Mother and Daughter Meeting" on the same stage with Gong Yunfu, a veteran of Peking Opera, which attracted the attention of Yang Xiaolou, a martial artist of Peking Opera, and got his guidance, and the cooperation between Shang Xiaoyun and Yang Xiaolou began; In November, he was instructed by Peking Opera actor Sun Yiyun and others, and co-starred with Lu Sanbao and Gao Qingkui in Peking Opera "Hongni Pass" and "Shilang Visits His Mother".
In January 1917, he studied Kunqu Opera under Lu Jingui, and followed Zhang Zhiquan to learn Peking Opera Tsing Yi; In November, under the leadership of Yang Xiaolou and Tan Xiaopei, Shang Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng went to Shanghai to perform, and were praised by the Peking Opera industry as "three small and one white" in the south of the Yangtze River, with more than 70 performances, especially the Peking Opera "Changban Slope" and "Xiangjiang Meeting" co-starred with Yang Xiaolouyun. In December, Shang Xiaoyun joined the Tongxin Society, and performed Peking Opera "Cai Lou Pei", "Shilang Visits Mother", "Falling Garden", "Mulberry Garden" and so on with Wang Youchen, Gong Yunfu, Shen Huaxuan, Xun Huisheng, Xu Deyi, Hao Shouchen, etc.
In March 1918, Shang Xiaoyun co-starred with Yang Xiaolou, Gao Qingkui, Xun Huisheng, Li Shunting, Qian Jinfu, Chi Yueting and others in the Peking Opera "Chu Han Zheng (before and after)", "Hongni Pass", "Farewell Palace Sacrifice to the River", "Female Liberation", "Wujia Po", etc.; In May, Beijing's "Shuntian Times" selected Peking Opera rookies, and Shang Xiaoyun was named "Tong Ling King" with 15,525 votes.
In the spring of 1919, at the invitation of Shanghai Tianchan Stage, he went to Shanghai to perform the whole version of the Peking Opera "Qiankun Fushou Mirror" with Wang Yaoqing, Yang Ruiting, Ma Lianliang, Zhu Suyun, Sun Futing, Sun Yanting and others. In April, he joined the Fuqing Society, and often performed Peking Opera "Drunk", "Filial Piety Festival", "Zhan Puguan", "Qingding Zhu" with Gong Yunfu, Tan Xiaopei, Zhu Suyun, Ci Ruiquan, etc.; In the same year, he joined the Yuhua Society and performed Peking Opera "Baolian Lantern" and "Garden Dream" with Wang Yaoqing and Mei Lanfang.
In February 1920, he joined the Shuangqing Society and performed in Peking Opera "Jade Dragon Zuo", "Thorn Bajie", "Thirteen Sisters", "Fenhe Bay", "Shepherd's Circle", "Qin Liangyu", "Nengren Temple", "Good Period", etc.
In the winter of 1921, Shang Xiaoyun participated in the voluntary performance carried out by the Peking Opera industry in Beijing to relieve artists in difficulty in the same industry, and played Huang Tianba in the Peking Opera "Wax Temple"; In the same year, most of them performed in Beijing Sanqingyuan, with collaborators such as Yi Dayuan, Gao Qingkui, Yu Zhenting, Yu Shuyan and others.
In February 1922, under the guidance of Peking Opera actor Sun Yiyun, he rehearsed the Peking Opera "Sacrifice Tower"; On December 1, Emperor Xuantong Aixin Jueluo Puyi held a wedding celebration in Shufangzhai, Shang Xiaoyun and Yu Shuyan, Ma Lianliang, Mei Lanfang and others acted to celebrate, and co-starred with Wang Huifang in the Peking Opera "Five Flower Cave".
Group photo of the four famous Dans
On February 8, 1923, at the presidential palace of the Beiyang warlord Cao Kunzhi, he performed the Peking Opera "Harmony between the North and the South" for the parliamentarians; In July, with the help of Pu Xu, a Qingyi layman, the Peking Opera "Qin Liangyu" was written; In August, the Peking Opera "Red Silk" was finalized; Since then, Shang Xiaoyun has received a lot of help from Pu Xu, Zhuang Yunkuan, Li Shoumin and others in writing and adapting scripts; In September, he cooperated with Yu Shuyan to perform the Peking Opera "Imperial Tablet Pavilion" for the diplomatic missions of various countries in China; On September 10, he cooperated with Tan Xiaopei, Hao Shouchen and Xiao Changhua to perform the Peking Opera "Famen Temple" for various organs of the Beiyang government.
In February 1924, together with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng, he was selected as the "Four Famous Dans" of Peking Opera by Beijing's "Shuntian Times"; In March, she rehearsed the fashionable Peking Opera "Modern Girl" and wore a suit to accompany her with Western musical instruments, which attracted a lot of attention.
In February 1925, he founded the "Xieqing Society" (later changed to the Chongqing Society), and hired Hou Xirui, Zhu Suyun, Yan Jupeng, Ma Lianliang, Jiang Shaokui, Fan Baoting, Shang Fuxia, Ma Fulu, Ru Fulan and others to join the society, Shang Xiaoyun's father-in-law Li Shoushan served as the teacher, and Shang Xiaoyun served as the president; In March, he went to Fengtian to sing for Zhang Zuolin's mother's birthday, and then went to Jilin to sing for Wan Fulin's mother's birthday; In May, the "Xieqing Society" performed at the Tianjin Xinpeng Theater for the first time, and Shang Xiaoyun, Yan Jupeng, Xiao Cuihua, Zhu Suyun, Ma Fulu and others performed Kunqu Opera in addition to performing the Peking Opera "Yutang Spring", "Dream in the Garden", "Spring and Autumn Match" and "Qin Liangyu".
In January 1926, Shang Xiaoyun was elected president of the Beijing Liyuan Association; In July, with the assistance of Pu Xu, the Peking Opera "Jieyu as a Bear" was written; On August 21, Mei Lanfang entertained the Japanese Morita Song and Dance Troupe, accompanied by Shang Xiaoyunzuo; In the same year, they went to Tianjin and Shanghai to perform.
From June to September 1927, he successively wrote Peking Opera such as "Qianjin Quande" and "Zhuo Wenjun"; In the same year, he went to Tianjin and Shanghai to perform again.
In 1929, with the assistance of many friends, Shang Xiaoyun successively created Peking Opera such as "Pearl Fan", "Mrs. Flower" and "Digging the Earth to See Mother".
In September 1930, the Peking Opera "Acacia Village" was published; In October, he and Mei Lanfang performed Peking Opera "Nantianmen" and "Descending Dragon Wood" for the Liaoning flood in Tianjin.
In 1931, Shang Xiaoyun performed in Tianjin.
In March 1932, he performed for the soldiers of the Songhu Anti-Japanese War in Tianjin; In the same year, he donated 300 yuan with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng, Yang Xiaolou and others to purchase 10 acres of land as a pear orchard base.
In January 1933, Shang Xiaoyun co-starred with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Xun Huisheng in Shi Laoniang Hutong in his adaptation of Peking Opera "Five Flower Cave"; In April, in Tianjin Chunhe Theater for the relief of the Yellow River flood, the Peking Opera "Yutang Chun" before and after the performance.
In May 1934, the Peking Opera "Qiandu Liu Lang" came out; In October, the Peking Opera "Hollow Valley Fragrance" came out, and later went to Changsha, Hankou, Kaifeng, Luoyang and other places to perform.
From June to July 1935, the Peking Opera "Flounder" and "The Woman in Green" were written one after another; In August, he directed the Peking Opera "Kunlun Swordsman", "Juanjuan" and "Golden Vase Girl" for the Fulian Cheng class, which was on the verge of disintegration, which made this long-established old class have a turnaround.
In January 1936, for his eldest son Shang Changchun to learn art, an advertisement was issued to recruit 10 students, and the number of applicants was large; On March 15, the Rongchun Social Science Class founded by Shang Xiaoyun was officially established; In April, in order to solve the expenses of the Rongchun social science class, more than 10 houses were sold successively; In May, Shang Heyu, Cheng Jixian, Xiao Cuihua, Wang Fengqing, Sun Yiyun, Yan Lanqiu, Dai Yunfang, Li Hongchun, Yu Yongli, Luo Wenkui, Qian Fuchuan, Guo Chunshan and others were successively appointed as teachers of Rongchun social science class; In June, more than 100 Wenlin social science students from as far away as Zhejiang pleaded and agreed to let them study art in Rongchun Society, and the number of students in Rongchun social science class also exceeded 300. From August to December, the Peking Opera "Dragon Girl Shepherd", "Zhan Shujuan", "Qingcheng Nineteen Heroes", "Mixed Yuan Box" and "Chu Han Zheng" came out and rehearsed one after another.
On February 15, 1937, the Rongchun Society opened a class and began to perform officially, and all the students in the class whose names hang the word "Rong" are Wenjiao, and those who hang the word "Chun" are Wujiao; In March, in order to ensure that the students of the Rongchun Club did not perform on the yellow stage, Shang Xiaoyun and Yang Xiaolou co-starred in the Peking Opera "Xiangjiang Meeting" after the students' performances; In October, the Peking Opera "The Legend of Tiger Milk Flying Immortals" and "Flying Heroes Jinding" came out one after another.
On March 16, 1938, the Rongchun Society Peking Opera Troupe, with students as the main actors, was officially established; From April to August, the Peking Opera "Nine Songs of the Yellow River", "Jiuyang Bell", "Northern Beauty", "Fushou Mirror", "A Golden Pill" and "Mei Yu Pei" were published one after another.
Still
In September 1940, the Peking Opera "Mu Guiying", "Leifeng Pagoda" and "Proud Fate" came out one after another.
On March 16, 1941, a meeting was held to commemorate the third anniversary of the establishment of the Rongchun Society, and in the case of many poor children who asked to join the society to study art, more than 200 students were recruited in the second phase.
In April 1943, more than 200 students from the first phase of the Rongchun Society went to the Tianjin Grand Theater for the first time, and the repertoire included the whole "Blood Splattered Wanhualou" strung together by excerpts such as "White Water Beach", "Tongtian Rhino" and "Robbery and Killing Field"; The whole book "Wild Girl", which is strung together by excerpts such as "Guan Suo Recruits Relatives", "Seven Captures of Meng Huo" and "Sacrifice to Lujiang", etc., has been watched by many audiences due to the large number of characters on the stage and the outstanding collective lineup; In May, the Peking Opera "Jade Dragon Zuo" and "Gong Yan Yuan" came out.
In 1944, he mostly performed at the Chang'an Theater, North China Theater and Sanqingyuan in Beijing.
In 1945, he often staged Peking Opera "The Story of the White Rabbit" and "Pan Tao Club" in Sanqing Garden in Beijing.
From December 27 to 31, 1946, in order to help the victims of the disaster in Shandong, the Peking Opera "Red-Maned Horse", "Liang Hongyu", "The Legend of the White Snake", "Modern Girl" and so on were performed at the Chang'an Theater.
In May 1947, due to the corruption of the Kuomintang government, prices skyrocketed, and the Rongchun Society could not make ends meet. In order to solve the problem of eating teachers and students, Shang Xiaoyun sold 7 houses and cars again; In August, the Peking Opera "Lanling Daughter" and "Xiangjiang Meeting" were published; From September 18th to 21st, he and Xun Huisheng performed for Tianjin Quanye Primary School, which was watched by many audiences. In 1948, due to the skyrocketing prices and the fact that the Kuomintang army continued to catch strong men among the young students of the troupe, the Rongchun Society could not be maintained, and Shang Xiaoyun had no choice but to tearfully announce the dissolution of the Rongchun Society, which had lasted for 12 years, to all the students; In October, the Peking Opera "Fanjiangguan" was published.
On October 1, 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded, Shang Xiaoyun soon led more than 70 people to the grassroots level to perform for workers, peasants and soldiers; In December, the new Peking Opera "Mo Dai" and "Night Return" came out.
In May 1950, with the approval of the Beijing Municipal People's Government, the Shang Xiaoyun Troupe was established, and Fang Yingpei, Bai Jialin, Shen Fugui, Li Mingsheng, Li Hengchun, Wang Shaofang and other figures in the Peking Opera industry were invited to join the troupe; In November, Shang Xiaoyun Troupe went to Nanjing to perform for a month, and then performed in Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Jinan, Qingdao and other places.
In July 1951, the new Peking Opera "Princess Pingyang" was staged; In September, Shang Xiaoyun Troupe went to Yichun Forestry Bureau and Hegang Forestry Bureau, which are located at the junction of China and the Soviet Union, to perform for nearly a month, and the comrades of the troupe braved the severe cold of minus 15 degrees Celsius to transfer more than ten places; In December, he went to Xi'an for the first time to perform and visited Huaqing Pond.
In the spring of 1952, he went to Nanchang, Wuxi and other places to perform; In June, he returned to his hometown of Nangong County, Hebei Province to perform and meet the villagers; In October, he went to Shijiazhuang, Xuzhou, Yingkou and other places to perform until the end of the year.
In April 1953, the new Peking Opera "Blood Splattered Pear Flower Pavilion" was released; From May to the end of the year, he went to Dalian, Shenyang, Harbin, Jiamusi, Yichun, Qingdao, Shijiazhuang, Dezhou and other places to perform for 200 days.
From March to September 1954, he led the troupe to Shijiazhuang, Dezhou, Anyang, Anshan, Fushun, Tianjin and other places to perform for more than 220 days.
In May 1955, he was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the First Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference until the end of 1965, and was re-elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Second, Third and Fourth CPPCC. From June to the end of the year, he led the troupe to perform in Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Jinan, Yantai, Dalian, Benxi, Suzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and other places for more than 200 days; In the same year, the award ceremony for the People's Liberation Army was performed in Huairen Hall.
Shang Xiaoyun's paintings
In March 1956, he served as the executive director of the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the deputy director of the Beijing Peking Opera Workers Federation. In the same year, he led the troupe to Nanjing, Wuxi, Shanghai, Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Zhenjiang and other places to perform for more than 240 days.
In the summer of 1957, he led the troupe to Tangshan, Yanzhou, Luoyang, Taiyuan, Xuanhua, Xinxiang and other places to perform for more than 100 days; In July, he led a troupe to perform in Xi'an and Baoji, which was watched by many audiences; In December, he led a troupe to perform in Hohhot.
From January to October 1958, he led the troupe to Baotou, Datong, Chongqing, Jiujiang, Nanchang, Zhuzhou, Changsha, Wuhan, Chengdu, Huangshi, Lanzhou, Qingdao and other places to perform for more than 270 days.
On January 6, 1959, at the invitation of Xi Zhongxun, then Vice Premier of the State Council, and people from all walks of life in Shaanxi, he supported the cultural construction of the Great Northwest, led his family and troupe, and arrived in Xi'an by train; In February, he served as the chief artistic director of Shaanxi Provincial Opera School and the executive director of Shaanxi Provincial Drama Association; In August, the adaptation of the Peking Opera "Princess Shuangyang" was staged in Xi'an, due to the healthy content and novel directorial techniques, the Propaganda Department of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Provincial Department of Culture researched and determined that the play would be used as a gift to Beijing to the 10th anniversary of the National Day. On September 28, he served as the head of the Shaanxi Provincial Gift Performance Troupe to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the National Day, and at the same time recruited 9 people in Beijing to study at the Shaanxi Opera School.
In February 1960, the student class of the Guizhou Peking Opera Troupe, which grew up from Shang Xiaoyun's art, came to Xi'an to give a report and performance, which was watched by many audiences; In March, he served as a director of the Shaanxi Provincial Branch of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association and the deputy head of the Shaanxi Provincial Zhao Jing Delegation of the National Cultural and Educational Heroes.
On May 7, 1961, he led a delegation to Tongchuan City, a coal mining base in Northwest China, to perform for the miners, and then went to Yan'an to perform for the people in the old area; On May 30, the Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government sent a telegram to lead the Tongzhou Bangzi Troupe of Shaanxi Province to Beijing to report the performance, and served as the deputy head of the performance troupe; In July, he was invited to Handan to pass on the art of the Handan Peking Opera Troupe; In August, he was invited to Taiyuan to pass on his art for the Taiyuan Jin Opera Youth Troupe and the Linfen Pu Opera Youth Troupe, and recruited some actors from the Taiyuan Jin Youth Troupe, Taiyuan Opera School, Linfen Pu Opera Troupe, Linfen Pu Opera Youth Troupe and other places as disciples; On December 2, the Propaganda Department of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Provincial Department of Culture held the "Shang Xiaoyun Disciple Art Conference" in the People's Building in Xi'an.
In March 1962, Xi'an Film Studio filmed the opera film "Shang Xiaoyun Stage Art" starring Shang Xiaoyun, which included Shang Xiaoyun's Peking Opera "Zhaojun Out of the Plug" and "Lost Son and Crazy"; In October, he went to Jinan to give lectures and spread art; On November 7, the Propaganda Department of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Provincial Bureau of Culture held the "Shang Xiaoyun Apprenticeship Art Conference" in Jinan.
In January 1963, he was invited to give lectures in Guizhou; In May, he left Guizhou to give lectures in Kunming.
In January 1964, the Shaanxi Provincial Peking Opera Company was established, and Shang Xiaoyun served as the first director; On July 1, he served as the head of the Shaanxi delegation of the National Peking Opera Modern Opera Performance; On July 25, Tian Han, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government, hosted a banquet to entertain Shang Xiaoyun, who participated in the "National Peking Opera Modern Opera Performance".
In March 1965, he rehearsed and directed the modern Peking Opera "Qinling Fengyun" and prepared the program for the modern opera performance in Northwest China; On July 15, he went to Lanzhou to participate in the modern opera performance in the northwest region and served as the head of the Shaanxi delegation.
In October 1966, he was imprisoned in the "cowshed" by the "rebels" of the Shaanxi Provincial Peking Opera Company during the "Cultural Revolution" with political hats such as "old opera tyrants" and "seals, capital, and black masters", and suffered all kinds of cruel criticism.
On December 31, 1975, Shang Xiaoyun, accompanied by his wife Wang Ruifang and secretary Zhang Jingrong, went to Beijing for treatment of eye diseases.
In February 1976, Shang Xiaoyun's eye disease, cataract and kidney disease became increasingly serious, but he repeatedly asked to return to Xi'an; On March 15, escorted by more than 10 people, he returned to Xi'an and stayed in the First People's Hospital of Xi'an to continue his treatment; On April 15, Shang Xiaoyun's condition deteriorated further; At 3 o'clock on April 19, Shang Xiaoyun passed away due to ineffective treatment, and sighed on his deathbed: "I cherish the sky and the year, and I have a lot of hatred"