Wang Shutian: I know the King of jingyun drums Liu Baoquan (1999)

I. Introduction

　　I am a cross-talk actor, born in Tianjin in 1913. My father's name is Wang Wenyuan, and he has been working as an electrician and ticket collector for many years at the Yanle Shengping Qu Art Field in Tianjin. My uncle Sun Shaoshan and Liu Baoquan are the founders and operators of Tianjin Yanle Shengping Qu Art Field.

　　Liu Baoquan is a native of Shenzhou, Hebei Province, and moved to Tianjin with his family in his childhood. My father was not much older than Liu, and they grew up on a street. I remember that when I was five or six years old, that is, in 1918, the Liu family lived in No. 26 Guojia Reservoir Hutong in Tianjin Hebei, and my family lived in No. 23. When I was seven or eight years old, that is, around 1920, the Yanle Shengping Bookstore was completed, and the Liu family, together with my family and other famous artists of the bookstore, moved into the dormitory of this bookstore.

　　Liu Baoquan is my elder, and in art, he has given me a lot of help. When I was a child, I worked with him. I've been with him for 20 years alone. Shortly after the start of the 77th Anti-Japanese War, I left him because I went to Jinan to perform.

　　Some of the historical materials I wrote about him below were told to me by Liu Before he died, some of which I saw with my own eyes, and some of which I heard from my father and my aunt.

　　Second, the faction of the big drum

　　The four households that sang the big drums, Namely Mei, Qing, Hu, and Zhao, one faction per household. These are the four grandfathers who sang the big drum. When did these four households come into being? According to legend, it existed during the time of Emperor Ming of Tang. The four households offer a grandfather's tablet, namely:

　　Drum board Lang Jun

　　King Zhuang of Zhou

　　Winged Star King

　　According to the legend of the predecessors, the big drum was founded by King Zhuang of Zhou in the Spring and Autumn Period, who was sent to the earth by the winged star king of the heavens to engage in drumming and storytelling to persuade good. Of course this is superstition. Later, due to the ignorance of the music workers, the drums and plates were also burned with incense. This means that these two things are used to earn money and eat, and they are also worshipped as gods. Before liberation, there was a Quyi Guild in Beijing, located in the Beijing Liyuan Guild (at Zhushikou), which provided the above tablets and drums and plates.

　　In addition to the "portal", there are also generations. Four families are ranked together. The modern generations of singing the big drum are: Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen, and Fu. One generation can be used for 30 years, and five generations can be used for 150 years. This is all passed down orally, and there is no way to know it further. Further down are the actresses. Actresses have a lot of "red" characters. For example, the famous Jingyun big drum actress Lin Hongyu and others are not named after their generations, that is to say, they do not use stage names, but use their real names to perform. Female drum actors, most of whom are taught by string masters, sing a little red before officially worshiping the teacher.

　　Liu Baoquan's real name is Liu Yimin. He is the big drum of the "Qing" family door, and the sharp characters are of the generation. As for what his stage name was when he visited the teacher, it is not known. Later, he died as Liu Baoquan.

　　It must be noted that these four portals and the above-mentioned five generations of modern times are used in the entire music and art world, except for cross-talk. For example: Qiao Qingxiu and his wife who sing Henan pendants, they are from Jinan, Shandong, both of whom are "Mei" family members and lizi generations. There are many people singing the "Plum" family. Qiao Qingxiu's husband is called Qiao Liyuan, and Qingxiu is the child daughter-in-law of the Qiao family.

　　In the old society, why can't you worship a teacher? There are two reasons for this. On the one hand, it is because there must always be a teacher to learn art; on the other hand, there is a feudal circle. If you don't follow a teacher, you won't be able to enter this feudal circle, let alone learn art. After visiting the teacher, learning to become an art, after leaving the teacher, when Singing at the docks in other places, when he encounters pandao, he can cope with it. Let's talk about worshiping the master first, and then talk about the pan dao.

　　(1) Worship the master: In addition to worshiping a formal master, it is also necessary to worship, protect, and lead three masters. "Introduction" is the introducer, that is, the introducer. "Bao" is the mediator. During the period of learning, if the apprentice walks (that is, goes out and does not return, drops out of school in the middle of the way), loses (missing), abducts (cheats the teacher's things), misbehaves (breaks the law), or acts without taking the rules, the guarantor is responsible. "Belt" means a person who takes an apprentice to learn the art, that is, a master who directly teaches art. Most of the teachers are appointed by the master brother or uncle. For example: if you want to worship Liu Baoquan as a teacher and learn to sing the big drum, Liu can accept it, thinking that the widow can be taught, even if it is very good. Where does he have the time and energy to teach you? Most of them are taught to you almost by the master and brother, and Liu gives you some guidance, even if you teach.

　　Most of the people in the three industries of "drum, willow, and picking" are served separately. The "drum" is the one that sings the big drum. "Willow" is a song that sings small songs, including singing various miscellaneous songs. This type of music is collectively known as Willow Zi Huo. "Picking" is a trick. Why do these three kinds of people have to perform these three tasks separately? This is very good for the apprentice. After worshipping the master who sings the big drum, if you feel that you can't sing the big drum, you can learn to sing a small song instead; if you don't learn to sing a small song, you can change your learning to change the trick. If you want to change your profession, you don't have to go to another teacher, just learn the art from the two masters of "introduction" and "protection".

　　A ceremony is held during the worship of the Master. The disciple first kowtows to the ancestral master's tablet, and then prostrates to the master, the master, the guide, the bao, the belt master, and the elders in the same group. For peers, after being introduced by the teacher, only each other will be bowed or bowed to show respect and congratulations. At the end of the ceremony, the teacher first gives a drum and a board to the apprentice, which means that this is even if it is given to you to eat. At the same time, he also told you the name of the master and grandfather and the names of the master, the master, and the brothers of the master--you must tell the names of the three generations to the apprentices. Again, tell the disciple which "portal" we are; it is only when the portal is passed on that we can talk about imparting art.

　　After worshiping the master, the master should be responsible for the apprentice's study, and at least half a bowl of rice should be given to the apprentice. That is to say, to pass on the minimum art to the apprentice. If the apprentice himself can work hard, he may become a famous actor. If the master is irresponsible for the apprentice's learning and art, the apprentice does not learn the art, and after leaving the master, he goes to the outer dock to work, and when the guide and the protector find out, he must question and rebuke the master.

　　(2) PanDao: In the old society, when the music artist ran to the foreign dock to sing, he would often encounter pandao. "Pan Dao" means that peers come to interrogate their peers. For example, if a family sings a big drum at a wharf, and a big drum player comes from a foreign port, this will definitely affect the business of the local family. As soon as the foreign port is sung, the local family will come to pan the road.

　　The pando is performed on the singing field. The interrogator comes to the book field, first places your drum hammer on the drum horizontally, and then asks: Which portal are you from? Who is your master? Who are your master and grandfather, uncle, and master? How many brothers are there? What passages have you learned? If the interrogator answers correctly, he will praise you as an "old insider" (that is, an old expert) and will be attentive to you. If you can't answer, or if you answer incorrectly, he will say that you are "Hai Qingzi", and there are also people called "Hai Qing Legs" (the "Qing" here is for the "old" above. "Green" means green apricot, green apricot is sour and immature. "Haiqingzi" means "Lengtou Qing" who walks the rivers and lakes - ignorant, layman). He immediately "carried" you. The so-called "carrying" means taking your drums and plates away, and you are not allowed to sing here. Not only that, but it later developed to the point that even the money asked for from the audience on the spot was taken away at the same time.

　　When the plate is finished, if the answer is correct, there is still a set of false etiquette. If it is the junior who is on the road, and it is the elder who is being crossed, the junior must immediately call the elder to see the "dry child". And vice versa. If they are of the same generation, they will give hands to each other.

　　Pandao was a means of maintaining feudal "portals" and monopolizing art.

　　All the actors who run the docks in the field have a certain level of art, and they are all apprentices; such people are generally not afraid of the road. If the interrogators answer correctly and are insiders, will they let you perform here smoothly? There are two cases of this.

　　One is that the artistic level of foreign actors is high, the business is good, and the artistic level of local actors is low. Business is not good, so that foreign actors will take away the business of local actors, of course, will not let foreign actors perform smoothly. Things have developed to this point, and someone next to them has come out to say something. The solution is that the two companies do business together. The so-called partnership is that the foreign actors are made into a share, and the local actors are made into a share. The money earned every day, regardless of the number of people on each side, is divided equally between the two shares. Here, it must be mentioned that although the local actors are in the foreign actor team, they do not work. Due to the low artistic level of local actors and the daily performance in the local area, the audience is tired of listening, so they just don't act and sit for equal money. In this way, of course, the foreign actors do not want to stay here for a long time, until the foreign actors are squeezed out.

　　Can't an out-of-town actor partner with a local actor? No way. The local actors all have deep ties to the local public security department. Local actors are afraid of being squeezed out by the performances of foreign actors, so they will find these people to make all kinds of difficulties for foreign actors. If you do not partner with local actors, you may be forced to stop acting. In order to be less ostracized by local actors and less difficult to be harassed by local public security organs and other local snakes, before performing at the docks in other places, foreign actors always have to visit their peers and conduct consultations, and then "pay homage" to the public security organs and the ground snake (the local feudal leader) in order to reduce the obstacles during performances.

　　Another situation is that if the artistic level of the foreign actors is poor, coupled with the bad business, there will be less contradictions with the local actors; the local actors still have the upper hand, and the foreign actors will not interfere.

　　In the old society, no matter how clever your art was, if you didn't worship the teacher, there was no such set on the rivers and lakes, no matter where you went to sing, someone would definitely give you a "carry".

　　In this feudal circle, sometimes there are some people who talk about "righteousness." For example, both families sing big drums, and both are "portal" singers, singing at a pier. If one party's business is bad, and even life cannot be maintained, and the other party's business is good, the party with a good business may give the other party a little money for food, or give him some travel expenses to help him sing in another place.

　　Third, Liu Baoquan's life story

　　In his early childhood, Liu Baoquan's family was poor, and around 1879, at the age of eleven or twelve, he was admitted by his father to a Qing Yin class in Tianjin (also known as Le Tong, that is, Xiang Gongxia). Write a pledge deed. After entering the Qing yin class, he first learned to play the pipa, and then learned to play four hu and sing small songs.

　　At that time, there were two kinds of Tianjin Xiaoqu: one called Huai tune and the other called horse head tune. Both. He can sing, and the best is the horse's head tune.

　　Around 1932, Zhou Dawen of the Tianjin Kailuan Mining Bureau recorded a record of horse-head tunes for Liu. The recording is "White Ape Stealing", which has three sentences on both sides, playing the pipa and singing by liu himself, and playing the three strings by Liu Wenyou and accompanied by Lian De Kangla's four hus. The horse head tune is sung, similar to the Xicheng plate in Tianjin.

　　When Liu was fifteen or sixteen years old, Xianggong was abolished, and the Qing Yin class was changed to the Qing Yin Class, with women singing instead of men. Liu redeemed himself and gained personal freedom from then on.

　　Liu Baoquan's voice is particularly good, in order to carry forward the advantages of his talent, he then changed to Beijing opera, and asked the actor Sun Yiqing as a teacher. Sun is a student of Liu Jingran, who lived without a life in his later years, and was aged and sent to the end by Ma Lianliang. Ma's Ganlu Temple and other declining dramas were taught by Liu.

　　After Liu Baoquan worshipped Sun Yiqing as a teacher, he learned the Wang Hat drama and learned such plays as "Going to the Rooftop", "Let Chengdu", and "Hitting the Golden Branch".

　　Liu Baoquan and Sun Juxian, the famous actor of Peking Opera at that time, were a drama artist. Sun Juxian is a native of Tianjin, nicknamed "Fellow Countryman", who has lived in Tianjin for a long time. At this time, although he had entered his old age, in order to live up to the requirements of the vast audience, he still needed to perform at times. Liu Baoquan did not dare to sing the right stage drama with him, so he often went to other places to sing the wild stage. Liu Baoquan said to me, running outside the dock, singing wild stages, quite hard. Sometimes I didn't even have to eat, so I had to ask the peasants for something to eat. The price of singing wild stages is very low, and it has to rely on gentlemen and masters to give rewards. In the countryside, cash is rarely used as a reward, mainly relying on them to give some steamed buns left over from the temple fair and the banquet. After a wild stage play, sometimes each person can get dozens of pounds of steamed buns. Liu said: "At that time, when I sang the wild stage play, my family always ate dry steamed buns all year round. ”

　　Ever since he was able to sing Peking Opera. Sun Yiqing also ran to the outer pier with him and sang a wild stage play, and Sun Yiqing took in a total of three apprentices, Liu Baoquan was one of them; the other two, one named Jin Jitan, the female, and the other named Sima Hua, a man. Jin Jitan sang popular in Shanghai first. Sima Hua was a Shanghai ticket fan, and after visiting the teacher, he went to the sea, and later sang popularity in Shanghai. At this time, only Liu Baoquan's art had not yet emerged. Liu saw that the two brothers of the division sang red, so through the relationship of the old master Sun Yiqing, he also went to the Shanghai Tiantou Stage to sing. Once, when he sang the play "Empty City Plan", one of the songs was smashed, and the audience shouted good. Liu immediately smashed the sentence and repeated it. This time the singing was good, but the audience continued to shout down. So I couldn't sing anymore, so I had to stop singing. Liu told me that he became angry and sick because of this incident that day, and from then on he swore that he would never eat the Beijing opera again.

　　He said he was coaxed out of office for two reasons. One reason is that I sang a sentence myself, but more importantly, there are other reasons. At that time, Gao Qingkui, a famous student with the same name, dong Junfeng, cooperated and sang on the Shanghai Gongji Grand Stage. At this time, it was the period when Gao Qingkui was at the top of the red, but unfortunately, Gao suddenly collapsed, the attendance rate dropped suddenly, and the front desk boss of the big stage was called Wu Acai, who was Jin Rong's apprentice, and when he saw that his business was not good, he sent dozens of thugs to Tian toad, specifically to make trouble with the boss Gu Zhuxuan, looking for the fork of the horn, shouting that the horn was good, and wanted to bring down the business of the heavenly toad. Liu Baoquan's life in the art of Peking Opera was sacrificed in the gladiatorial struggle between these two hooligans. Liu once said that after Gao Qingkui and Dong Junfeng knew about it, they both scolded Wu Acai's hooligan behavior.

　　After Liu sang Beijing opera in Shanghai and planted a jindou, he stopped singing Beijing opera and learned to sing big drums after returning to Tianjin.

　　Around 1915 and 1916, most of the drums were sung by blind people, and there was no three-string or four-string accompaniment. Only the singing person, holding the cloud board in his left hand and the drum hammer in his right hand, sings a few words, knocks on the drum a few times, and exchanges gas for energy, and there is no performance. Later, in the period of the famous female drum actors Black Girl and White Girl (that is, the black and white girls mentioned in the "Old Remnant Journey"), those who sang the big drum were accompanied by three strings, mostly played by blind bullets.

　　Liu Baoquan learned to play three strings, pipa, and pull four hus from a young age. In order to learn to sing the big drum, he first used the second string to accompany people, and soon he learned to sing the big drum. When he could sing, he would not accompany people, but would sing the big drum himself.

　　Before becoming famous, Liu Baoquan carried out a series of reforms to the Jingyun Big Drum.

　　First, he reformed music. Before singing, he first composed many "new drum sets" – preludes. Then added the four hu accompaniment, which improved the quality of the accompaniment.

　　He is extremely strict with his accompaniment. When he sang, he sang according to the ruler who asked for accompaniment for every word and sentence. This is just as Zhao Jitang, a famous peking opera violinist, said: The techniques of the Peking Opera Huqin Tuoluo are "bag" (wrapping), "with", "lining" and "supplement". Generally, with more. "Follow", that is, what ruler to sing, what ruler to pull. In some places, if you need to add words, add a few "lining" sounds to set off the singing cavity. For those who sing half and throw half, give him "make up". For those who can neither follow, nor can they be lined, let alone made up, they are "wrapped". "Wrap" is a harmony, such as singing 123, accompanied by a pull 56i. "Wrap" should not be used often; for example, when used, it is necessary to make the listener feel novel and the person who sings it feel comfortable. The bracket method of "packing, following, lining, and supplementing" plays a role in baking the clouds and supporting the moon for the singer. Liu's accompaniment to the big drum is what he asks for.

　　Secondly, he added a body to the drum. In the past, I sang a big drum and had no body. In the era of black girls and white girls, they also stood upright and sang, that is, there was no performance. Because Liu Baoquan sang Peking Opera, he applied the performance methods of "hands, eyes, body, law, and steps" in Peking Opera to the big drum, and installed a simple body on the big drum, thus constituting a performance singing and correcting the dull form of standing there singing stupidly.

　　Before Tan Xinpei, Peking Opera, such as Cheng Changgeng and Yu Sansheng' ancestors, paid more attention to singing and neglected workmanship. When it came to Tan's family, it was only when the "singing, doing, reading, and playing" of Beijing opera was emphasized, thus constituting the Tan school, and Liu Baoquan's reform of the big drum was borrowed from Tan's practice.

　　Again, he carried out in-depth and meticulous reforms in singing. Since he had a good voice and used it freely, he often combined several scales and sang with the "fuzzy tone" singing method. He also combines high octaves, low octaves, wide tones, narrow tones, real voices, and false voices, which are seamless and exceptionally good. Sometimes he sang it in one breath, including dozens of scales. In his later years, because he has more understanding of the role, he has delved deeper and deepened, and the feelings he sings are deeper. He sang the most in Jingyin, and sometimes in Huguangyin, but not much.

　　After his initial achievements, he often sang at the Xibao and Xuan Tea Houses in Tianjin Beimen. By about 1910, when he was forty-one or two years old, he had already made a slight appearance, so he stopped singing and went to Beijing to specialize in the study of big drums.

　　Liu grew up in Tianjin, and in the accent he originally spoke, the taste of Tianjin was very heavy. At this time, he sang "Timid Drum", and some people called it "Wei Da Drum" (Tianjin Wei). The word "cowardice" is a sneer at the peasants in the old society in Beijing. For example, if a person is timid in tone, timid in wearing, the general meaning of the word timid refers to the meaning of the earthy atmosphere in the soil. After he arrived in Beijing, he changed his Tianjin township tone, completely changed it to Jingyin, and integrated some of the singing methods of Peking Opera, so later he called the big drum he sang "Jingyun Big Drum". This is the origin of the name "Jingyun Big Drum". At the same time as Liu, who became famous by singing "Timid Drum" to "Jingyun Big Drum", there was also Bai Yunpeng. Bai is a native of Dacheng, Hebei. The latter two each became a genre.

　　In order to delve into the singing method of the big drum, Liu lived in Beijing for two or three years, specifically learning from the elders of the Peking Opera industry. He first learned from Wang Yaoqing. During this period, he lived in The Xiannongtan in Beijing. Xiannongtan is the place where Beijing Peking opera actors shout their voices every morning. There is a tea house here, dedicated to these guests. Liu took advantage of this opportunity to ask for advice from the Peking Opera circles every morning, and he absorbed a lot of things here, the most important of which was to solve the problem of his vocalization when he sang the big drum.

　　In addition, he also reformed the pronunciation of the drum and used the four-tone chanting method.

　　As a result of the above-mentioned reforms, he made the big drum have a new development in art, and later more and more people sang the big drum and learned from him, so the Liu school in the big drum was formed.

　　At the age of 46, he was already popular in Tianjin. The reason why he sang popularity was, on the one hand, that his artistic skills were profound, and indeed he had formed his own special genre, which was recognized by his peers; on the other hand, it was also because he had an old friend named Zhuang Yintang. Zhuang was then the editor of the Beijing Factu Vernacular Newspaper. Zhuang likes to listen to the big drums the most, and he also writes drum lyrics. He wrote Liu Sing's "Catching Sanlang Alive" passage; liu sang's "Ning Wuguan" passage was also rewritten by him. In addition to writing and revising drum lyrics for Liu, Zhuang also wrote for Liu and publicized Liu's achievements in the art of drumming in newspapers. In this regard, Zhuang helped Liu a lot, and through the election organized by the newspaper, Liu won the title of "Drum King".

　　The election of the "Drum King". It is first published by the newspaper museum to publish the names of so-and-so drum actors, and then introduce the artistic achievements of these actors, and then use a large sign to write the names of the actors participating in the election of the big drum king on it. Placed in front of the bookstore where the actors sing, there is a ballot box next to it, and the audience can vote freely after listening. Depending on which actor gets the most votes, which one will get the title of "Drum King". The "Drum King" cannot be selected once a day, it takes a long time to be selected. The number of votes obtained per person per day is announced by the newspaper statistics, and the drum king who accumulates the most votes in the end is the drum king.

　　After Liu became popular, he often sang in the small pear garden of the French Concession in Tianjin. At that time, the front desk manager of Xiaoliyuan was my uncle Sun Shaoshan. At this time, Liu's seat power was still as strong as it was then.

　　Around 1934-1935, Yuan Wenhui, a rogue leader in Tianjin, asked him to sing at the Qingyun Bookstore in The Chinese territory. Qingyun was Opened by Yuan, and Liu did not want to go. This annoyed Yuan Wenhui, who actually sent hooligans to Xiaoliyuan to make trouble for Liu. Once, when Liu sang home, just out of the garden, he was deliberately bumped by the hooligans and threatened, "Good Liu Baoquan!" that you may recognize me." Having said this, he slipped away. This kind of hooligan has a small knife hidden in his waist, and ordinary people dare not provoke it. This time, Chen You, the leader of the Qing Gang, sent an interview to "mediate", and Liu invited guests and "accompanied the crime". Chen's "mediation" was to "vent" yuan.

　　In the future, Yuan Wen would often send small hooligans to XiaoLiyuan to deliberately fight. In this way, the business of the small pear garden has gradually become cold.

　　At this time, Liu had entered old age, and he was bullied by hooligans several times in a row. I don't want to sing, but I am forced by life to do so. Sing it, a belly full of pocket gas, how to sing well! Although he usually protected his throat, after all, due to his poor strength, his seat power was completely weakened.

　　At this time, Liu Chang sat quietly and rarely talked to people. He often sings the passages of "White Emperor City", which is particularly beautiful and fascinating. Whenever he sang, "I don't know how to be talented, mr. De's luck to become an emperor, but I didn't expect it, I didn't accept the advice, and I fought the pavilion." I died on the eve of my death, and this son was young, and I had to entrust Mr. Fool to him. Thinking of this son, who has lost his wife since childhood, and now he has lost his father, may Mr. Wang regard him as a parent and become famous. Come fast forward, hurry up, and worship the military master. When I die, he will be like your own father. When the time comes, there are often tears, the song is not loud, and the audience can't bear to listen to it.

　　Liu had a son and three daughters, and at this time his family burden was still quite heavy. Consciously entering old age, I am fed up with the anger of the hooligans, and I will not be able to perform because of my old age. At this time, he not only felt sad about the world, but also had the feeling of missing the orphan!

　　So, the hooligans in Tianjin are so rampant, why does he still sing in Tianjin again and again? Because there are not many people in Beijing who really like to listen to the big drum. There are more people in Tianjin who like to listen to music and art, and the attendance rate is much stronger than that in Beijing; especially because Liu grew up in Tianjin and became famous in Tianjin, Sang Zi's thoughts are very heavy, so he is willing to come to his hometown to sing.

　　After being bullied the most in Tianjin, he returned to Beijing and rarely sang. Later, his life was really helpless, and in 1936, he was invited by Dai Buyang, a rogue leader in Shanghai and the manager of the Great China Hotel, to sing at the Great China Hotel in Shanghai. As a result of the singing, the attendance rate was good in the first few days, and then it gradually failed. This one-month contract was only sung for more than 20 days. This time he took the silver net is a promissory note.

　　What is a "promissory note"? The promissory note is a check written by the owner of the theater, and the exchange place is the theater. In fact, the boss took away all the cash sold. Liu Jing's promissory note could not be redeemed in cash, so that he did not even have money to buy vegetables every day. Don't sing, don't sing; sing and don't scream. If you want to go back to Beijing, the hooligans are not allowed to leave, and if they insist on leaving, they will be persecuted. In this way, he was sick with qi.

　　At this time, the British merchant Emily Records in Shanghai saw that Liu had entered his old age, and he was in a predicament when he came to Shanghai this time, if he did not take this opportunity to ask him to pour a few records, it would be difficult to have such an opportunity in the future. So this time, I poured all the "Great West Chamber" paragraphs, and a total of three were irrigated. However, the company did not give him a few dollars, but only allowed him to pay him according to the sales of records in the future. But that's a bad check.

　　After Liu returned to Beijing from Shanghai this time, his performances were even less frequent.

　　Liu Baoquan died on October 8, 1942, at the Summer Palace in Beijing, at the age of 74. According to this, it is inferred that he was born in 1869. One of his sons, three daughters, didn't sing the drums, and there was a depression behind him.

　　Liu Baoquan was generous and generous, and he spared money in righteousness. He was not good at managing money all his life. Some of the peers came to Beijing from Tianjin to sing, and if the business is not good and they can't maintain their lives, as long as they come to him, he will help him. Give money for the meal first. Then give the road fare so that it will not be exiled.

　　Liu loved to play with Han jade all his life, and often wore jade on his body. Some bought them themselves, and some sent them from friends. He did not buy a house in Tianjin, and he had a small house in Beijing, most of which were antique jade, and Pingsu rarely went out of the gate.

　　4. Liu Baoquan's art

　　Liu's voice was crisp and loud, and he did not fade to death, but he was a little unable to catch up with him in his old age. His voice is good, partly due to talent, but more importantly, due to his perseverance in exercising and maintaining throughout his life. His peers had learned from him how to maintain his throat.

　　He taught me how to maintain my throat. He said; he had never smoked, drank alcohol, or eaten fatty meat all his life. Fresh vegetables are the mainstay of the meal, and if you sing for days, you simply eat vegetarian and never eat indiscriminately. There is a certain amount of sleep time every day. Every morning at four or five o'clock, I get up, shout my voice first, wash my face, rinse my mouth, and then adjust my voice. There are three strings and four hu accompanied by noise tuning. He practiced this way. Decades were like a day, so he rarely got sick.

　　He said that shouting and adjusting his voice every day will not collapse. "Collapse", that is, after the actor sings famous, in middle age, he does not insist on practicing every day, and sleeps late in the morning, and does not often perform, when he arrives at the performance, he suddenly has the feeling that he cannot sing, or his voice does not listen to the call. This is called "collapse". If you insist on practicing every day, make the middle qi uninterrupted, and sing it, you will not collapse.

　　Before each performance, he must first sing at home, repeat the pronunciation and singing voice of each word, and only sing when he thinks there is nothing wrong with it. He said, "It's not easy for the audience to come and listen once, and I'm responsible for them." I must send the pronunciation and singing of every word and sentence to the ears of the audience, and live up to the expectations of the audience."

　　Before each time he went on the scenes, he first closed his eyes and recuperated in the background, rarely spoke, and after the performance, he sat cross-legged in the background, rested little, still did not talk to people, and then went home. He never forgot a line in his life.

　　In order to cherish his voice even more, he left the room after the age of 40.

　　He is good at a large set of drum books, the most skilled passages are: Zhan Changsha, Baidicheng, Huarong Dao, Grass Boat Borrowing Arrows, Zhao Yun Interception River, Single Knife Society, Changsakapo, Xu Mu Scolding Cao, Guan Gong Huang Zhong's Knife, Noisy Jiangzhou, Sitting On the Building to Kill, Capturing Sanlang Alive, Ma On Shan, Daxi Xiang, Nanyang Pass, Trial Head Thorn Tang, Ningwu Pass.

　　All of the above passages, he has records. In his later years, he also had "Double Jade Listening to the Qin", which recounted the matter of Baoyu Miaoyu in "Dream of the Red Chamber". This is a passage.

　　The most difficult to sing in these passages are "Ma On Shan" and "Nanyang Guan". Both paragraphs are "high and high", that is, singing a paragraph, long a key, no good voice, can not sing,

　　His "Great West Chamber" is the most popular, but he does not like to post this paragraph the most in his life. He told me that this passage was sung, twisted and kneaded, and the fat powder was thick and the most annoying.

　　Liu Pai's big drum is suitable for singing characters who are resolute and courageous, and it is a bit restrictive to play characters such as Miss Yingying. Therefore, most of them only post the performance once a year when the box is sealed. The less often he sang, the more the audience wanted to hear it. Every time he posted this paragraph, the attendance rate must have reached the saturation point.

　　Liu not only sings big drums and Peking opera, but also does other skills. His peers in Beijing and Tianjin called him the "Ten Perfect Old Man.". From an early age, he learned to play the pipa, the three strings, and the four hu. He can also play the kite, Lajinghu and Erhu. After he became famous at the age of 46, he also learned to sing plum blossom drums and octagonal drums; he was more able to speak cross-talk, play lotus flowers, play drums, and sing brand songs. When he sings the sign song, it is the protagonist, that is, the drummer who sings. He sang the octagonal drum very proudly, playing the strings himself and singing it himself. For the line of quyi, in addition to not being able to write, he can be said to be proficient in everything, and the key is that he has a good voice and is willing to delve deeply. His midrange and bass are wide, and after the sound is sent out, there is an echo, and his peers are all envious!

　　The formation of Liu Pai's big drum, especially in the first creation of the body, as well as the pronunciation, pronunciation, and line cavity, are borrowed from Peking Opera in many places. At the same time, some of the famous actors of Peking Opera were also helped and influenced by Liu. For example: Mei Lanfang. Mei has studied with Liu in terms of voicing words, pronouncing words, and protecting her throat. When they were studying, Mei Duo invited Liu to his home, and Mei sang to Liu first, and Liu listened to it before giving advice. Especially in terms of "standing tone" (that is, the back of the brain, now called brain resonance) and how to protect the voice, Liu Xiangmei said a lot. At the same time, Liu also has a proper learning and absorption of mei's delicate pronunciation. In 1962, "Quyi" magazine published an article by Mei Lanfang entitled "Talking about the Artistic Creation of Drum King Liu Baoquan," which introduced Liu's art in great detail.

　　There are also Yan Jupeng and Cheng Yanqiu. Yan Jupeng likes to listen to Liu sing the big drum the most. Yan used a mixture of true and false sounds to Liu, and absorbed a lot. Yan's singing style in his later years is more prominent in this regard. Those singing voices can melt into peking opera, not only have no traces, but appear particularly novel. Cheng Yanqiu also likes to listen to Liu Baoquan sing the big drum the most. Cheng is famous for acting in tragedies. The singing voice in Cheng Pai's qingyi is known for its bass, sadness, and gentleness. Cheng absorbed a lot of the line singing method at Liu's bass tactful place.

　　In addition, Yang Baozhong and Wang Shaoqing, famous peking opera pianists, also have a close relationship with Liu Pai's big drum.

　　Yang and Wang are cousins, and Yang is a cousin. Both of them love big drums. People who like Peking Opera music know that Yang Baozhong, in addition to playing a good huqin, also plays a good violin; as everyone knows, he is even more good at playing the four hu of the Beijing rhyme drum. People who love Meipai Qingyi know that in addition to Wang Shaoqing's good erhu and Jinghu, there are also some singing voices in Meipai Qingyi that Wang has designed; as everyone knows, Wang Shaoqing can play the three strings of the Beijing rhyme drum well. The two cousins, for a period of time, were fascinated by the big drum together, and often went to The Liu family, and Liu taught them to sing the big drum. Sometimes Mei Lanfang invited this group to Come to Mei's house to sing. In order to study and appreciate together, it is difficult for laymen to have a chance to hear.

　　It must be mentioned that in the life of Wang Shaoqing's accompaniment to Mei, he created a lot of flowers for Peking Opera Qingyi, and achieved great results. It was something he had sucked and melted from the drum sleeve of the big drum. In addition, in the accompaniment of Meipai Qingyi Erhu, Wang Jia added a chorus, which is also borrowed from the support cavity of the big drum.

　　Yang Baozhong and Wang Shaoqing's finger sounds are very good. The two of them played the big drums, which was also particularly beautiful. Liu thought that the accompaniment of these two big drum fans was very rare, so he was particularly happy to sing.

　　5. Bao Quan Tang

　　After Liu Sang's big drum became popular, around 1930, Baoquan Hall was established in Beiping. At that time, the actors in the Peking qu art circle only had a certain reputation in art, plus they had a pair of "gongzi" (孫子) (孫子 is a basket woven with bamboo, which is specially used to install props for quyi performances. This is something unique to the music industry), you can set up a hall name. The so-called "tang number" has neither registered trademarks nor taxes paid to the government, still less a fixed actor, nor a form of organization, but Liu Zi is the master of the hall number, taking advantage of Liu's artistic appeal to easily solicit business in the name of Bao Quantang. The hall name of the qu art circle is slightly equal to the organization of a team.

　　Liu Baoquan is the owner of this hall number, and he is also the main actor, if there is a church meeting (including all festive matters) at the door of the mansion, and Liu comes looking for Liu, Liu will make a verbal contract with someone in the name of BaoQuantang, and this business will be determined in a word. Liu used the name of Bao Quantang to notify the invited actors in writing. The actors did not ask about salary, eating, drinking, and hospitality, and only went to the church on time to perform. After the performance, Liu Baoquan, the owner of the hall number, sent the silver that each actor deserved, also known as the bottom money, to his home.

　　The actor performs a parish meeting, in addition to the bottom money he deserves, there is also a reward. The money that the master gives to an actor belongs to an actor alone, and has nothing to do with the bottom money. The actors are very bitter, and the reward is not easy to get.

　　The hall number, in addition to facilitating contact accidents, has two secondary roles. One function is to maintain the closeness of art. If someone in Tianjin comes to ask Liu to sing, Liu will say. I can't go alone! So I took his group with me. In this way, everyone can make some money and have food to eat. Another role was that at that time, the music performers in Beijing and Tianjin were willing to work in Baoquan Hall. He thought that he could take this opportunity to raise his personal artistic prestige, and he thought that he had a glorious work in Baoquan Hall. This also further increased the prestige of Bao Quan Tang.

　　There are basically two forms of performance of quyi: one is to sing in the bookstore, tea house, or stall, openly selling tickets; the other is to sing in the church.

　　At that time, the luxurious church meeting in Tianjin, in addition to the Qingwang Mansion, was the Renji family. Ren Ji is Song Feiqing, the owner of the lamb brand wool factory. But this actor is more mean.

　　There is also the church meeting of Yingxiu Hall. Yingxiu is the real name of Tan Xinpei, an old predecessor of Peking Opera, and Xinpei is his stage name. After Tan Xinpei's death, his fifth son Tan Xiaopei took charge. His family's hall name is Yingxiutang.

　　It must be noted that the roles of Ying Xiu Tang and Bao Quan Tang are different. The hall of the qu art world is an artistic organization that uses it to open its doors to the outside world. In the old society, some families bought and sold real estate, paid taxes, or other trade transactions, and did not want to use their real names and surnames, and used their hall names instead. Ying Xiu Tang belongs to this category.

　　Tan Xiaopei liked to listen to Liu Baoquan sing the big drum the most before he died. When Liu sang, he bought tickets to listen, and sometimes even found Liu's home to listen. Therefore, whenever the Tan family held a church meeting, he always found Bao Quantang to sing. Liu always has to go to Tan's house several times a year to sing.

　　The Tan family is a generation of Peking Opera actors, and they regard the qu art world as peers, neither asking the quyi actors to please ann, nor kowtowing; the actors eat the same as the guests. The silver package given is always 50% more than the general church meeting. Hence the actors of the music world. I like to go to Tan's house to sing. When singing, I am extremely happy, work hard, and feel like a family.

　　Liu said to me before he died that Tan Xiaopei and he were old friends. Tan often came to Liu's house to visit the door, and often invited Liu to his house to play. But Liu just didn't want to go to Tan's house to visit the door, because Tan's father and son liked to smoke, swallowing clouds and spitting fog all over the house, and Liu was afraid of smoking and ruining his throat. He was willing to go to Mei Lanfang's house to visit the door, because Mei did not smoke, and there was no smoky smoke in Mei's house.

　　6. Liu Baoquan's apprentice, accompaniment and the garden he has performed

　　There were many people in his peers who called Liu a teacher, many of whom had received his advice, and many of whom had private disciples, but only the following four people were really taught by Liu As a disciple and personally taught by him: Wang Zhenlu, Chang Xujiu, Bai Fengming, and Han Dequan.

　　Among the laymen, there was a salt merchant in Tianjin named Feng Zhibin, who was a fan of the Jingyun drum, learned from Liu Shen, and later went to the sea. He bought a ticket to listen to the learning.

　　Liu sang the big drum, the first person to accompany him, the one who played the three strings was Han Wenlu. Later, Han's apprentice Bai Fengyan was replaced, and everyone called Bai the Great King of Strings, and it was Huo Lianzhong who pulled the four hus.

　　Later, Bai Fengyan did not give Liu accompaniment, and Liu trained his younger brother Bai Fengming. Although Feng Ming was a student of Liu, he was also deeply taught by Brother Nai in art.

　　The second session for Liu's accompaniment was played by Wang Wenchuan, and the one who played the four hus was Zhu Guilin.

　　The third time to accompany Liu, the three strings were played by Han Dequan (Han was Liu Baoquan's apprentice at Guanshan Gate, that is, the last apprentice), and it was Lian Dekang who pulled the fourth hu. At this time, Liu had entered old age. After that, I replaced a la-four-beard, I don't know who it is. Later, within a few years, Liu passed away.

　　Liu lived in Beijing for a long time after he became famous, but he did not sing them very often in Beijing. When singing, it is mostly sung in the South Of the City Amusement Park, or in the tea house outside the front door.

　　In his early years, he often sang in Tianjin Yanle Shengping Bookstore, and later sang in the Song and Dance Building (changed to Xiaoliyuan after the Song and Dance Building).

　　He went to Shanghai to sing a few times. Go to Shanghai to sing, and the manager of the invitation to the corner will temporarily find a venue. As mentioned earlier, the last time he went to Shanghai was at the Great China Hotel.

　　Here is a side mention of the Yanle Shengping Bookstore in Tianjin.

　　After Liu sang the big drum and became famous, my uncle Sun Shaoshan and Liu jointly built a bookstore in Tianjin Nanshi, called Yanle Shengping. Built between 1920 and 1921, Yanle Shengping was the first official bookstore in Tianjin, established specifically for Liu to sing. Sun Shaoshan was appointed as the front desk manager, and Liu's disciple Wang Zhenlu was appointed as the backstage manager.

　　At that time, Yan Le Shengping's team mainly consisted of the following people: the octagonal drum singer had Deokshou Mountain. He was a member of the Qing court, a yellow belt, and a man of many talents, and in addition to singing the octagonal drum, he could also write drum lyrics and speak cross-talk. The drums were sung by the black girl, the white girl, and Jin Wanchang. There are thousands of people who talk about crosstalk. His real name is Li Deyang. For the fans of the people are Madlu and Zhou Toad. Zhou Toad's real name is Zhou Deshan.

　　These people are all famous actors of a generation in China's music and art circles. Before Liu wei became famous, this group was sung by black girls on the big axis program. Liu sang red, and after joining this group, Liu sang the big axis.

　　At that time, beijing sang the Jingyun drum, in addition to the Liu Pai drum, there was also Bai Yunpeng's white pai drum, and the two were equally famous at the same time. The Liu Pai Drum is known for its strength and density; the White Sect Drum is famous for its dense loop. Due to the limitations of the same era, they are mainly based on singing traditional programs. But Liu's disconnection with the times is even more serious.

　　Liu's audience was mostly upper-class figures. For example, the qingwangfu, the owner of the Kailuan Coal Mining Company, Zhang Xueliang and others, they all have private room seats, whether they listen or not, they pay as usual every month. The ticket price of white is lower, so the influence of white school is more popular among the general public.