There is such a Peking Opera family in the Peking Opera circle, their father, son, and brothers are all famous families, and the industry calls this family a little-known hard hand in the Peking Opera circle, which is the Guan family.
The first generation of Guan Men is Mr. Guan Zilin.
Guan Zilin is a Peking Opera Wudan, originally from Shunyi County, Beijing, in the early years of farming at home, because of the difficulties in life, then went to Beijing to find a way out, initially went to Tan Xinpei's second son to practice martial arts, and soon worshiped under Wang Huaiqing to learn Wudan, in the last years of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty has been famous in Beijing, it is said that kung fu is excellent, and even a fight can take a foot to slap people's mouths. once performed "The Big Show", fell and injured his leg on stage, and has never performed on stage since.
Guan Zilin first married the eldest daughter of the famous singer Chen Guiting as his wife, and the eldest son after marriage was the famous Tan faction old student Guan Dayuan, whose mother died of illness when he was just 3 years old. Later, Guan Zilin continued to marry Zhang's wife, and gave birth to three daughters: the eldest daughter Guan Bihua, married Yu Bulan, the son of Peking Opera master Yu Zhenting (changed to Xiaosheng after learning Danjiao), and gave birth to a son, the famous martial arts actor Yu Dalu; the second daughter, Guan Yuzhi, married to the ugly Ru Fuhui; The third daughter, Guan Yuxiu, married to Sun Weizhong, the master of the moon qin (the son of the famous flute master Sun Huiting). After the death of Zhang, the successor wife of Zilin, he remarried a third wife, also surnamed Zhang, and gave birth to two sons and three daughters after marriage, namely the name Chou Guan Shengji, the name Xu Sheng Xi, and the fourth daughter named Fengxia, married to Peking Opera master Yu Lianquan (stage name Xiao Cuihua), and was the stepmother of the famous old man born in Shiwen.
Mr. Guan Dayuan is the second generation of singers in this Peking Opera family, and he is also the biggest actor in this family. At that time, all the old students in the world were Zongtan, Guan Dayuan got the true meaning of the old Tan school when he was young, he took the stage at the age of 7, and at the age of 9, he recorded "Golden Stage" and "Troubled House" in Baidai Company, and Guan Dayuan became popular at the age of 13. At this time, Guan Zilin threw his hands and concentrated on being a "star father", and after giving birth to nine children with the wife of the third room before and after, Guan Zilin officially shaved his degree, and went to the temple of Emperor Guan to be the second master.
Mr. Guan Dayuan was 7 years old from the famous teacher Jia Lichuan to learn literature and martial arts, and the same class of scholars include Xu Yintang, Liu Chunxi, Li Xinfu, Zhang Rongkui, Gao Qingkui, Liu Yanfang, etc., these brothers are the youngest in the first year of Guan Da, and they are the younger brothers. Mr. Jia Lichuan is a famous master of the old Tan faction, and there was a comment that "the old student sings on stage is Tan Xinpei, and the audience teaches Jia Lichuan". After Jia Lichuan's death, Mr. Guan Dayuan continued to learn Tan school opera from Jia Lichuan's nephew Jia Honglin, Jia Honglin was Guan Dayuan's brother-in-law, and he cared for Guan Dayuan, and taught him the plays he knew. (Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang learned from Jia Honglin in his early years, and inherited his singing voice in the famous drama "Fishing and Killing Home.") ）
In 1908, Guan Dayuan and Mei Lanfang, Zhou Xinfang, Lin Shusen and others acted in the Xiliancheng (that is, later Fuliancheng Banshe) class.
After Mr. Guan Dayuan became famous, he cooperated with the four famous Dans and Xu Biyun to perform, and the old students who played for the Four Famous Dans were all Mr. Guan Dayuan, and the momentum can be imagined. Mr. Guan Dayuan is well aware of the different characteristics of their performances, so they cooperate tacitly and perfectly. However, the Peking Opera critics have an evaluation of Guan Dayuan as "Xu Yintang's magnificence, Li Xinfu's workmanship, and Jia Honglin's school of work"; In 1937, the "Drama Magazine" listed Guan Dayuan as the first of the "Four Masterpieces" of Xu Sheng, namely Guan Dayuan, Tan Fuying, Ma Lianliang, and Yang Baosen.
Guan Dayuan Shang Xiaoyun's "Bluestone Mountain" stills
Mr. Guan Dayuan sang alone to raise a family of 19, the audience held the horn to give gifts, with the flower basket is the most general, the good point is to send the championship, the account (similar to the pennant, banner), and then the best is the silver shield (sterling silver casting is similar to the trophy). After a performance in Shanghai, there were forty or fifty silver shields alone, and Guan Dayuan had to remove the glass cover box on the outside, and all the silver shields were stacked together and brought back to Beijing. He went to the northeast to perform, and often got tobacco, and the value of that thing was far higher than the silver shield. At that time, I went on tour in other places, 12 days for one period, one per day, and after singing the income of one phase, I could buy a house in Beijing when I came back.
Mr. Guan Dayuan can play a lot, and there are: "Three Blocks", "Blocking the Quiet", "Blocking Cao", "Blocking Forgiveness", as well as "Yulin County" (also known as "Ma Fang Trapped City"), "Hanyang Courtyard", "Trapped Cao Mansion" and other rare plays on the stage. In the play, there are more "unique skills", such as "Huang Zhong in Changsha took a knife and fell on the rattle", "Zhan Taiping Huayun turned over his back with a gun, and visited his mother to order Yang Shilang's hair.
In 1950, Master Mei Lanfang established the Chinese Opera School and invited Guan Dayuan to teach, making Mr. Guan Dayuan one of the four famous teachers in the early years of the Chinese Opera School. He has taught more than 50 plays of Tan School veterans to students, and has taught rigorously and seriously, always following the good path, teaching in the drama school for 15 years, and cultivating a number of famous actors for the country, such as Sun Yue, Li Mingyan, Bi Yingqi, Li Chuncheng, Feng Zhixiao, Li Guang, Geng Qichang, etc.
In the 40s, Guan Dayuan's two younger brothers, Guan Shengji and Guan Shengxi, were also famous Peking Opera singers.
Guan Shengji - a famous ugly man in Peking Opera, after entering the Fulian Society, he learned ugly behavior with Xiao Changhua, Guo Chunshan and other gentlemen. His performance is in a class of its own, known as the "cold-faced clown", and is known as the "Guan School".
In 1920, Guan Shengji and Guan Shengxi entered the Fulian Cheng class together, Mr. Guan Shengji specialized in the role of Wen Chou, and he initially studied mother-in-law plays, such as Huang Po in "Mei Yu Pei" and "Iron Lotus" (also known as "Snow Sweeping and Bowling", in which he played Ma). Then, he dabbled in square scarf scandals, such as Jiang Gan in "The Heroes" and Tang Qin in "Judging the Head Thorn Soup". Guan Shengji is in the "Sheng" character department, together with Sun Shengwu and Wang Shengru, and is famous as a big clown, especially the performance of the mother-in-law's play, which is almost unmatched.
Mr. Koon's repertoire is rich and varied, including the role of a witch in "The Sheep Change", Mama Hu in "Visiting Relatives", and Chan in "Sending Relatives", showing his profound skills at every step. In "Carrying the Baby into the House", the role of Li Ping is even more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and in "Iron Bow Edge", his image of Chen's mother is impressive. Dou's performance in "Puqiu Mountain" and Tang Qin in "Judging the Head Thorn Soup" both prove the diversity of his dramatic character creation. Zhang Wenyuan in "Captured Alive" and Wang Po in "Curtain Tailoring" are both comedy roles that he is good at, and his cooperation with Ye Shenglan often brings unexpected laughter. It is said that once co-starred with Wang Yurong in "Peacock Flying Southeast", and in the middle of the night weaving silk and holding a lamp, Wang Yurong, who played Liu Lanzhi, made the evil mother-in-law laugh more than once, and almost came up.
In "Yutang Spring", Guan Shengji plays Shanxi businessman Shen Yanlin in the front, and he plays the role of solving the problem and advocating justice. Shen Yanlin read Shanxi Baikou all over the audience, his Shanxi mouth can be chaotic and true, and it is extremely funny, when he plays on the court, he recites four sentences as usual: "You say you are fair, I say I am fair......" and then reported to his home. Guan Shengji played Shen Yanlin in the front, and Shen died because he accidentally ate his wife Pi's poisonous noodles. As soon as Guan Shengji's Chonggongdao came on the stage, he changed his lines: "I gave my life just now, and I will return to Yang at this time." The audience burst into laughter.
In the Peking Opera Harlequin, his pronunciation is very special, and every sentence is high and low, like a child muttering when he is forced to do something he is reluctant to do. He wasn't meant to be funny. His "smack" is indifferent, not the so-called "tickled man" of Beijingers and the so-called "hard funny" of Shanghainese. His jokes, after making people laugh, can still be thought about and recalled. Someone asked him, "Why are you so funny?" He said, "I'm not funny, I'm telling the truth." "Telling the truth" is the only way to do harlequin art. Telling the truth and making people laugh is a real harlequin. The soul of comedy is life and truth.
Mr. Guan Shengji's stage photo
Mr. Wang Zengqi wrote in "Old People and Old Things": "Not only on stage, but also in life, Guan Shengji is also so funny. When he died, he was still funny. When he died, he was only forty years old, which is a pity. He died of a heart attack and was ill for a long time. The family knew that his illness was incurable, and they had already prepared for him and bought a "wrap" - that is, a shroud. One day he asked his family to dress him. When they were all dressed, they said, "Bring me a mirror." He looked in the mirror: "Well, that's all there is to it!" ”
One day, he was very bad, and his family was busy, and he was afraid that he would not be able to get over today. He said angrily, "Don't be busy. I'm not leaving today. It's raining outside today, and I don't have an umbrella. "It's not easy for a person to maintain a lively sense of humor when he is critically ill, and to be able to "tease" death. This is a real harlequin who has been a harlequin for the rest of his life. ”
Mr. Guan Shengxi began to practice martial arts with his father at the age of 7, learned to play with his eldest brother Guan Dayuan, and also learned the doll life of "Fenhe Bay". At the age of nine, he was able to go on stage! The doll who once sang "Fenhe Bay" and "Sanniang's Godson" with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, and Shang Xiaoyun, Mei and others must be played by Sheng Xi every time they play children's plays, which has become a rule.
In 1924, at the age of 10, he and Guan Shengji entered the social science class of Fuliancheng to learn art, and he was a beginner, because he had a martial arts foundation and changed to a veteran of literature and martial arts, and was guided by famous teachers such as Xiao Changhua and Ye Chunshan. Xiao Lao often taught Guan Shengxi the Three Kingdoms operas, such as "Tongue Battle Confucianism", "Exciting Zhou Yu", "Heroes Meeting", "Borrowing the East Wind", "Taking Nanjun", "Linjiang Meeting", etc., and learned several plays such as "Tianshui Pass" and "Golden Stage".
Guan Shengxi, Lei Xifu's "Searching for Orphans and Saving Orphans"
After seven years in the department, he was discharged at the same time as Li Shengzao, Chen Shengsun, Liu Shenglian, Yang Shengchun and others. With the status of a second-road veteran, several Sui Zhang Jiyun, Li Shengzao and others performed in the Shanghai Golden Theater. Mr. Guan Sheng Xi should be a veteran of the second road, such as "Huanhuaxi", "Scolding Palace", "Rouge Tiger", "Thirteen Sisters", as well as Hongsheng drama "Hanjinkou", "Battle of Changsha", "Wenjiu Chopping Huaxiong" (as Guan Yu) and so on were all well received, and were known as "Xiaolin Shusen" at that time.
Mr. Guan Shengxi respected the art of the Yu School, painstakingly studied and made great progress in his skills, and performed on the same stage in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shandong, Hebei and other places, showing his artistic talent. Cheng Yanqiu, Zhang Jiyun, Jin Shaoshan, Mao Shilai, Zhang Junqiu and other old students in major classes were taken away by him. is very popular in Tianjin, and the audience in Tianjin likes him to sing crisply.
Around 1940, Mr. Guan Sheng Xi officially responded to the work of the second-class old students, such as in Li Shifang's class, and performed "Lost Space Chop" for the first time; took Mao Shilai's class and co-starred with Shilai in "Wu Song and Pan Jinlian" (as Wu Song); took Jin Shaoshan's class, and co-starred with Jin in "Broken Stream", "Tianshui Pass", and "Weishui River"; At the end of the 40s of the 20th century, he took Zhang Junqiu's class for the longest time, and co-starred with Zhang Junqiu in "Visiting Mother", "Fenhe Bay", "Red-maned Horse" and other Shengdan plays. At this stage, Mr. Guan Sheng Xi sang very popularly, ran a lot of docks, and in the mid-40s of the 20th century, he had become a leader among the second-class old students.
Guan Shengxi's "Lost Street Pavilion"
In addition to the old students, he also worked in Lao Dan and Wusheng. When he was in the class, She Taijun, who often accompanied people to sing "Visiting Mother" and "Yuanmen Chopping", and Qiu's mother in "Mulberry Garden Club", "I was full of tears when I saw Jiao'er", and he also shook the roof tiles of Dongguang and was praised for a while. There is also a play "After the Dragon Robe" Empress Li, and Qiu Shengrong's Bao Zheng have performed several times, which is also known as a double masterpiece when he was in the class.
Guan Shengxi's "Dingjun Mountain"
Mr. Guan Sheng Xi married at the age of 21 in November 1934 and married Zhu Yuzhi, the second daughter of the famous Wudan Zhu Guifang. After marriage, three daughters and one boy were born, the eldest daughter Guan Xiaoxia, the second daughter Guan Xiaogui, the third daughter Guan Du, and one son Guan Zhenshan, the old student of the Beijing Peking Opera Company.
Mr. Guan Shengxi joined the Hebei Peking Opera Troupe in 1955 as an actor and deputy director, and returned to Beijing in 1971 to recuperate due to illness. He died in Beijing in 1991 at the age of 77.