On January 6, Zhang Jiqing, a famous Kunqu performing artist and representative inheritor of kunqu opera of the national intangible cultural heritage project, died of illness in Nanjing at the age of 83.
Zhang Jiqing, formerly known as Zhang Yiqing, was born on January 3, 1939, from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of Kunqu opera of the national intangible cultural heritage project, honorary president of Kunqu Opera of Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, and national first-class actor. She topped the first "Plum Blossom Award" for Chinese drama in 1984, honorary citizen title in Villeurbanne, France in 1986, Kunqu Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ministry of Culture of China in 2002, "Artist with Outstanding Achievements in Long-term Dedication to Kunqu Art" jointly awarded by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture in November 2002, Lifetime Achievement Award for Chinese Artists in New York, USA in 2006, and representative inheritors of the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage in January 2008 In 2013, he was awarded the first "Zijin Cultural Honor Medal" in Jiangsu Province.
Zhang Jiqing was born in a family of opera, and studied art with his aunt at the age of 14. In 1952, he joined the Suzhou Minfeng Su Opera Troupe, and later studied under You Caiyun and Zeng Changsheng, specializing in Kunqu opera Danjiao. In 1956, he transferred to the Sukun Opera Troupe of Jiangsu Province, and was taught and guided by famous Kunqu opera artists such as Yu Zhenfei, Shen Chuanzhi, Zhu Chuanming, Yao Chuanqian, Yu Xihou, etc. Her voice is round and thick, the words are clear, the line cavity is gentle, the charm is timeless, the characteristics of each family are absorbed, and her own unique singing method has been formed, creating many artistic images with distinct personalities, especially "Zhang Sanmeng" - "Rotten Keshan - Dream", "Peony Pavilion - Frightening Dream", "Peony Pavilion - Dream Hunting", and is recognized as a Chinese Kunqu opera art performer.
The famous writer Bai Xianyong was extremely touched to see Zhang Jiqing's "Peony Pavilion" starring Zhang Jiqing in Nanjing in 1987, and claimed that he heard "the soul flying out of the sky". Many years later, Bai Xianyong planned and produced the youth version of "Peony Pavilion", and specially invited Zhang Jiqing to be the art director.
Since the 1980s, she has brought Kunqu opera to the world, and has been invited to Italy, Germany, Japan, France, Spain, the United States, New Zealand and other countries and regions for many times to visit, lecture, demonstrate, and perform, promoting cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, all of which have been warmly welcomed and highly praised, and have been highly praised by experts and audiences at home and abroad.
In his later years, Zhang Jiqing also performed on stage many times, making great contributions to the dissemination of Kunqu art and the cultivation of Kunqu talents. In October 2018, the "Zijin Culture and Art Festival" was held in Nanjing, and Zhang Jiqing, who was 80 years old, and his disciple Shan Wen sang a song of soap robes from "Peony Pavilion - Garden Tour", which was Zhang Jiqing's last performance before bidding farewell to the opera stage.
Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Wang Run
Edited by Jin Liwei
Process Editor Wu Yue