Yang Yaya and Lin Lianhua tell the story of their father's generation
"Uncle Haibao was my father's best partner when he performed puppets before he died, when he was the "head drum" (equivalent to the chief conductor of the band) of the drama class..." "I really didn't expect that our two families could still get together and continue to have a relationship..." Recently, in the home of 72-year-old Lin Touching Flower Grandma in Shanbian Village, Baishui Town, Longhai City, Zhangzhou puppet carving masters Yang Yazhou and Lin Apo emotionally told the puppet love affair of the two deceased fathers and the deep friendship between the two families.
Yang Yaya and Lin Touching Flower family group photo
This heartwarming scene originated from a news report in this newspaper. On July 24 this year, Minnan Daily published a message entitled "38 Years Ago Foreign Posters Witness the Glory of Zhangzhou Puppet Troupe", which reported that Yang Yazhou, the son of puppet show master Yang Sheng, received a poster of Zhangzhou Puppet Troupe performing in the United States published by American newspapers 38 years ago, as well as information about the development of Zhangzhou Puppet Troupe. On the day the news was published, Lin Zhixiang of Shanbian Village in Baishui Town was overjoyed to see the report: "It turns out that the descendants of Yang Sheng that we have been looking for are in Zhangzhou!" While Lin Zhixiang told his aunt Lin Lianhua the news, he contacted the author of the article through the newspaper and spoke with Yang Yazhou on the phone. In mid-August, Lin Zhixiang also made a special trip with his family to visit Lao Yang in Zhangzhou City, and learned more about the past of Grandpa Lin Haibao from Lao Yang's mouth, and Lao Yang also agreed with him to go to Baishui Town to visit Lin Haibao's descendants, and specially carved and made a 40-centimeter-high Guandi puppet to give to the Lin family to continue the two families' incomprehensible puppet love.
Yang Yaya specially made Guan Gong puppets
The story has to start at the beginning. Lin Touchhua recalled that when he was a child, he often listened to his father (Lin Haibao) say that before liberation, every New Year's Day in Shanbian Village, he would invite the neighboring Zhangpu Buddha TanfuChun Puppet Theater Class to perform, and every time he performed, his father, who loved music since childhood, always liked to go backstage to watch the band play, and he would dance with the drums in the depths, very intoxicated. Because there were many Zhangpu opera classes at that time, the drama classes also lacked Wenwubian musicians ("Wenwubian" is the jargon of the drama class: Wu is percussion, and Wen is other musical instruments. The boss of the drama class saw that Lin Haibao was so interested in the playing of musical instruments, so he accepted him as an apprentice. Since then, Lin Haibao has performed on the same stage with Yang Sheng, who learned art with his father since childhood, followed the class assistant at the age of 10, and rose to the head of the class at the age of 14 (that is, the foreman starring), and performed everywhere. Before long, the talented Lin Haibao became an all-rounder who could play a variety of instruments in the drama class, and became the "head drum" of the backstage band. "My father used to say that Uncle Hyperther had the most tacit understanding with him, because Uncle Hyperther would play synchronized drum beats according to the actor's steps and performance gestures, so that the puppet performance would reach a state of vividness and immersion." Yang Yazhou said.
Lin Zhixiang and Yang Yaya, aunt
In 1953, Zhangpu County set up the Yiguang Puppet Troupe headed by Yang Sheng, and on Yang Sheng's recommendation, Lin Haibao served as the "head drum" of the troupe. In 1954, the Zhangpu County Yiguang Puppet Troupe, starring Yang Sheng and starring Lin Haibao as the "head drum", successively participated in the Second Local Opera Observation and Performance Conference in Fujian Province, the East China Opera Observation and Performance Conference, the First National Puppet Shadow Puppet Theater Observation and Performance Conference, and won various awards. Since then, Lin Haibao has also accompanied Yang Sheng to perform in hungary and other European countries. After observing the puppet performances of Yang Sheng and others, Xie Obrazzov, then president of the World Puppet Federation and president of the Moscow Puppet Theatre, wrote a book highly praising the performing arts of Yang Sheng and other masters, and also praised the Zhangzhou cloth bag puppets as the world's rare puppet art "crown of Chinese national art". At that time, Yang Sheng's masterpieces "Jiang Gan's Book Stealing" and "Lei Wanchun Fighting the Tiger" were both used by Lin Haibao as the "head drum", and in 1956, these two plays were made into a color film "China's Puppet Art" by the Shanghai Film Studio.
She Obladzzoff (second from right) at a banquet
In March 1959, the Yiguang Puppet Troupe merged with the Nanjiang Puppet Troupe of Longxi County at that time to form the Longxi Special District Puppet Troupe headed by Yang Sheng.
Yang Sheng performs puppets
In his decades-long acting career with Yang Sheng, Lin Haibao has formed a brotherly friendship, and the two families have close contacts. "When I was a child, Uncle Hypertherm always came to our house to bring a lot of white water tribute candy and other specialties, and our brothers and sisters all ate it on fire..." Yang Yazhou recalled. Lin Touchhua also said that Yang Sheng often sent her family shrimp, dried squid and other seafood.
Yang Sheng passed on the art
During the Cultural Revolution, Yang Sheng was criticized for being a "reactionary academic authority" and a "representative figure of the Longxi area of the literary and artistic black line". In order not to involve others, Yang Sheng and his family took the initiative to cut off contact with others. Since then, the two Yang Lin families have lost contact.
Yang Yazhou instructed his son Yang Siying to carve puppets
"I have always wanted to organize my grandfather Lin Haibao's artistic life into written materials for permanent inheritance, but unfortunately, my grandfather's various awards, medals and related materials were copied during the Cultural Revolution, so that it was impossible to start, so we have been looking for Yang Sheng's family to get more information from them. Today, the party newspaper matchmaking, the two families finally got together, my grandfather's information has also landed, really happy! We will also make a modest contribution to the inheritance of this intangible cultural heritage project of Zhangzhou puppets. Lin Zhixiang said. Yang Yazhou also said: The two families continue the frontier and jointly do the inheritance for the Zhangzhou puppets, which is a fortunate thing.
Yang Yazhou making puppet heads (Chen Jianhe photography)