Yilin Zhou: My father, Zhou Shaolin
Zhou Shaolin
Ten years later, the daughter wrote a little bit for her father: the father died at home at 19:18 on December 29, 2010. He walked very peacefully, which gave us a little comfort in the midst of our grief.
My father was a handsome, humorous, optimistic, and strong man. My father was beautiful and handsome all his life but not mercurial, and my mother married at the age of 21. For as long as I can remember, I have seen his obedience to his mother. So much so that I have a beautiful vision of marriage. Although his father was insulted by being beaten into a "cowshed" during the Wen > Revolution, he never brought bad emotions home, but he also used his humor to amuse the whole family. When his father squatted in the "cowshed" of the Shanghai Peking Opera House, he always secretly went to help those old and infirm "cow ghosts and snake gods", and tried to stop the dirty and tiring work that the young generals gave every day to complete, so that people who always thought that he was "Xiao Kai" had a complete change in his view. Later, my father was sentenced to five years, and during our monthly visits, he still kept telling us jokes, so we didn't shed half a tear there. These virtues of my father have benefited me as I am growing up, and I can face any difficulties with an optimistic and strong attitude in the future of my life.
Zhou Xinfang and his wife Qiu Lilin, son Zhou Shaolin and his wife Huang Minzhen, and granddaughters Zhou Yilin and Zhou Chang
In my memory, my father never disciplined or reprimanded us, but had a long-winded conversation with us at the beginning of the Revolution; he told us that our grandfather had been wronged and was no longer the grandfather of his former status, and asked us to respect him and respect him more than before. My father also said to us: "Don't look down on others in good times, and don't look down on yourself in bad times." Oh, yes! The father of ten years of catastrophe never lowered his head psychologically! These few words from my father will last a lifetime.
His father had great, very much respect for his grandfather, and he loved the mantle that his grandfather had passed on to him. My father was not born in Keban, but transferred to Peking Opera during his college years. Because he was "halfway out of the house", he redoubled his efforts. Because he was the son of his grandfather, he made up his mind to sing the play well. Because he was smart and understood the essence of his grandfather, he quickly improved his business level. Unfortunately, just when his career was booming, he encountered an unprecedented literary revolution, which cruelly took away the golden period of his life! During his five-year sentence, his father was assigned to a labor camp and worked in a high-temperature workshop of more than 40 degrees Celsius every day. My father, who had tenacity and conviction, rode on the noisy sound of the machine to recite and sing the Peking Opera that had not been touched for ten years again and again. This allowed him to perform on stage immediately when he ended the Wen & Revolution and resumed the performance of traditional Peking Opera.
Zhou Shaolin "Oolong Temple"
In the 1980s, when our family immigrated to the United States, my father left the Chinese stage for a while, but he did not give up his beloved Peking Opera. With the support of his brother Zhou Yinghua, Peking Opera was brought to the stage of Lincoln Center in New York City. There were a lot of big American stars who came to watch it, and I met Robert on the day of the premiere. Dini Road, one of the beatles, John. Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and others. Since the performance, his father has been recognized by the authorities in the American literary and artistic circles and recommended him to teach courses. Because he did not teach Peking Opera, but how to use his grandfather's Qipai art, the students who came to the class had a wide range of film and television actors, directors, singers and so on. Because of the success and praise of the lectures, many universities invited him to teach, and later even invited regular courses in women's prisons & prisons.
During these two decades abroad, my father often returned to China from time to time to participate in my grandfather's commemorative activities and toured all over the country. He also gave lectures on the revitalization of Peking Opera. And did his best to publicize his grandfather's Qipai art, and successfully won back those who misunderstood and superficially appreciated Qipai art. With a deep affection for his grandfather and Qipai art, his father compiled a book on the academic theory of Qipai art, but because of the avant-garde and direct words in the book, this "Haipai Father and Son" could not be published twenty years ago. (This book was published by Ningbo Publishing House in 2004 and has been affirmed)
His father unfortunately contracted Parkinson's disease in 1999, and in order to facilitate recuperation, his mother accompanied him back to Shanghai. When he still had spare strength, his father accepted many disciples, including Chen Shaoyun, an old student of the Qi sect of Peking Opera, Wu Qun, an old female student of Yue opera, Wang Hao, a television director, Pei Yongjie, director of the Jilin Peking Opera Theater, Mu Xiaojiong, a qipai ticket friend, and Jiang Peipei, a young female student of Peking Opera. This also truly reflects the greatness of the Qipai being able to blossom in various fields of art. In order to pass on the art of the Qi Sect, my father taught his disciples everything he needed. He also often drags the sick body to rehearse and set the stage for them. His father's all-out sense of responsibility has deeply won the respect and love of his disciples!