Hu Wenge, | of the 11th Wen Dynasty: to be a Peking Opera person who "does not forget his original heart, keeps the integrity and innovates"

In the five years since the Tenth National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, as the third generation inheritor of Meipai of Peking Opera, Hu Wenge has continuously improved his understanding and practice of Meipai art on the one hand, and inherited the style of Meipai art on the stage. On the other hand, it is also thinking about how to make traditional art go to the people and serve the public, and how to integrate traditional art with the times.

　　China Art Daily: Please talk about your outstanding feelings as a literary and art worker since the 10th National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles was held for five years?

　　Hu Wenge: On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, I had the honor to participate in the movie "Decisive Moment" and play Mr. Mei Lanfang. There is a plot in the play that made me very moved: Chairman Mao personally went backstage to receive Mr. Mei Lanfang, which is a great honor for an artist. In the old society, singing was despised. After the founding of New China, the party and the state attached great importance to the cause of culture and art, and we became glorious literary and artistic workers and artists of the people.

　　I was greatly encouraged by General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech at the Forum on Literary and Art Work and at the opening ceremonies of the Tenth National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Ninth National Congress of the China Writers Association. The traditional art we are engaged in is the representative of China's excellent traditional culture. First of all, we must honestly inherit and treat the splendid culture left by our predecessors honestly and seriously, and at the same time, we must combine the art of opera with the times and serve the public.

Hu Wenge

　　China Art News: In the past 5 years, you have made solid explorations in stage practice, which work and performance impressed you the most?

　　Hu Wenge: In 2019, I starred in the symphonic Peking opera "Tang Guifei", which premiered in the Opera Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts. This is the work of my mentor, Mr. Mei Baojiu, who has worked hard all his life. It combines the original singing and story of Mr. Mei Lanfang's "Tai Zhen Wai Biao" and "Noble Concubine Drunk", and combines the form of modern symphony, reflecting Mr. Mei Lanfang's concept of "moving without changing shape". Because "Tang Guifei" combines both traditional performances and modern concepts, it is not easy for today's audiences to familiarize themselves with and like them. It is a matter of pride that the theme song "Ode to pear blossoms" of "Tang Guifei" has entered the homes of ordinary people and become a good story for us Peking Opera people to "not forget our original intentions, keep our integrity and innovate". "Ode to the Pear Blossom" is the best "Meipai gift" that Mr. Mei Baojiu dedicated to the audience, and he fulfilled Mr. Mei Lanfang's wish in another way. As a disciple of Mei Pai, I was able to star in "Tang Guifei" and sing this "Ode to pear blossoms", and I also fulfilled a long-cherished wish of my mentor, Mr. Mei Baojiu.

　　China Art News: In the past 5 years, you have done a lot of work in the "opera into the campus", what have you gained in the process?

　　Hu Wenge: In the past five years, I have followed the China Federation of Literature and Literature to the grassroots level and went to remote mountainous areas to give performances and lectures on traditional Chinese culture for local children. Letting local children understand the national essence of Peking Opera is something I am proud of as a Peking Opera person. In May this year, I walked with the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles to an ethnic minority school in Shilin, Yunnan Province, to explain, demonstrate and perform Peking Opera to more than 2,000 local children. The children listened with relish and actively asked questions, and I answered them one by one. After the lecture, I was very surprised that many children deliberately chased to the door to say goodbye to me, which made me very moved. Children are the future of the motherland, and it is not that they do not like our traditional culture, but that they lack such opportunities. Therefore, I am very grateful to the China Federation of Literature and Literature for giving me such an opportunity to approach the children in remote mountainous areas and let them truly realize the greatness of traditional Chinese culture, because that is our root.

　　China Art News: As the third generation of the meipai inheritors of Peking Opera, please talk about your thoughts on the inheritance and development of Meipai art.

　　Hu Wenge: We often lament that Mr. Mei Lanfang has reached a realm of "transformation" that is difficult to surpass in art. To what extent is it "transformed"? When we look at the remaining video materials, especially when Mr. Mei Lanfang plays some legendary fairies, such as Roselle, Tiannu, and Chang'e, we will feel infinite beauty and infinite yearning. His art is like a Chinese painting, with a freehand beauty, a beauty that can infinitely enlarge the imagination. For example, watching Mr. Mei Baojiu's performance, I will feel that he is fresh and unworldly on the stage. Although he was more than 70 years old at the time, the mysterious and elegant artistic embodiment conveyed by him when he played Xi Shi, Luoshen, Yang Yuhuan and other characters was something that our generation of actors had to continue to learn.

　　The actor's job is to perform well, complete every action to be completed on the stage in a down-to-earth manner, and interpret his artistic life wholeheartedly. As the third generation of Meipai inheritors, we must not only honestly inherit the traditional Meipai art, but also learn from Mr. Mei Lanfang's progress with the times on art to complete the task we want to complete today - to go to the people, carry forward the main melody, combine tradition and modernity, and bring more popular programs to the people. I think this is what I want to summarize well in these 5 years, and it is also a task to be completed in the future.

Author: Wang Yu, reporter of China Art Daily