For the famous magician Yan Dong, who grew up in a magic family since childhood, he is also the fourth generation leader of the national intangible magic, compared with ordinary people, the mystery of the word "magic" is not so strong for him. He described magic as the art of wisdom, which was taught to him by his elders, and it was also the truth that he still knew well when he engaged in magic.
Recently, Fu Yandong attended the 11th National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles as a representative of the China Miscellaneous Association, and listened to General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech to literary and art workers in the solemn Great Hall of the People. Subsequently, Fu Yandong also won the title of "The Seventh Beijing Young and Middle-Aged Literary and Art Workers". In two interviews with Fu Yandong, he not only shared his profound experience of attending the meeting, but also told his indissoluble relationship with magic.
The fate of the Wen Dynasty
At the beginning of each year, Fu Yandong's life and work seem to have pressed the accelerator button. Not only the recording needs of various performance stages, in the past December 2021, Fu Yandong also attended the 11th National Congress of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and when it came to the meeting, Fu Yandong still could not hide his excitement.
Fu Yandong's relationship with the National Congress of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles (hereinafter referred to as the "WenDaihui") has a long history. As early as 1996, at the closing ceremony of the Sixth National Literary Congress, Fu Yandong and his father Fu Tenglong performed magic performances for national leaders and delegates. "I remember performing an ancestral magic trick with my father called Telepathy, and I still treasure the video of the performance. I felt that in the darkness, I was related to the WenDai Society. ”
Until 2016, Fu Yandong officially participated in the WenDai meeting as a representative for the first time. "When I first attended the Wendai Meeting, I saw the general secretary walk out in the Great Hall of the People and listened to the general secretary's speech on the spot, and my whole soul was shocked and indescribably excited. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the development of the cultural field, and he has to speak in person at each session of the Wen Dynasty, which I felt extremely honored at that time. ”
2021 is the second time that Fu Yandong has participated in the Wendai conference as a representative, and the feeling of participating in each meeting is more and more profound. He described such a small detail, "When the general secretary spoke, the speed of speech was very slow, and I felt that it was particularly taking care of the speed of our participants taking notes. At this meeting, I really feel that the general secretary's speech is very well-written and particularly grounded. It not only gives us directional guidance, but also gives us inspiration for the way we create. These speeches must be studied in depth and in a later stage. ”
When talking about the feeling that impressed Fu Yandong the most, he did not hesitate to share the "five points of hope" in the general secretary's speech. "The general secretary's words are long-centered, especially the 'five-point hope' mentioned in the speech. In my understanding, first of all, the general secretary hopes that literary and art workers will be concerned about the great cause of national rejuvenation. Literature and art are the clarion call of the times, and I feel that the state attaches great importance to literary and artistic workers, and I think it is really the supreme glory; the second point is to adhere to the people's position and write the people's epic poems that are endless, among which, improving the ability to read life makes me feel particularly deeply, because this is too close to the creation of our magicians. Magic is the need to be based on life, with the ability to read life; the third is to adhere to the integrity of innovation, hoping that everyone will create a high-quality masterpiece that keeps up with the times. Fine works and works are not a concept, and behind the magic show also needs cultural roots to stand on its feet; the fourth point is to tell Chinese stories with emotion. As a Chinese, you must tell Chinese stories, if you just blindly imitate the Western form, it is unsatisfactory to get the Chinese society; the last point is to adhere to the right path, and achieve the value of life in the pursuit of virtue and art. I'm working on that too. ”
At the same time, he is preparing to organize a team to study and comprehend General Secretary Xi's speech, and share the feelings he learned and experienced in the meeting with more literary and art workers. Fu Yandong also won the title of "The Seventh Beijing Young and Middle-Aged Literary and Art Workers", and the responsibilities he is practicing as a literary and artistic worker hope to make more and more people have a clearer understanding of the literary and artistic undertakings and creative paths.
Magic is the art of wisdom
Magic can create a magical world, and in this world, the magician is the protagonist. But for Fu Yandong, who grew up in a magic family, his understanding of the magic connotation is more profound, which also benefits from the words and deeds of the family elders. "Since I was a child, my family will say to me that magic is the art of wisdom, and learning magic and watching magic is a manifestation of wisdom. So I don't dislike magic because it doesn't have that mystery to me, but I think it's a very meaningful thing to do magic. ”
In Fu Yandong's impression, his childhood self almost only had two things to learn and practice. Most of his homework was done at school, and when he got home, he spent a lot of his time practicing magic. But this did not make Fu Yandong feel bored or resist. He has loved magic since he was a child and has been able to devote a lot of time to things that interest him, which is a happy thing for everyone. He seems to have always been "someone else's child", successfully graduated from the Department of International Finance of East China Normal University in Shanghai with excellent results, but he still followed his inner love and embarked on the road of magic.
Ten years of grinding a sword, for the magician, behind the short display time on the stage is the accumulation of wisdom and time. Fu Yandong is the magician who has been on the CCTV stage the most in recent years, and has performed magic on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala and large-scale evenings many times. He has always adhered to the belief of "don't be a reflector, be a creator" to carry out magic innovation.
Where does the inspiration for magic innovation come from? Fu Yandong shared his three methods. "First, when you have no idea at all, you can check out the classic and excellent magic videos to find some inspiration from them. But I'm a magic cleaner who doesn't want to play a subject that others have played. As a result, I will invest more time and energy in recreating. The second method is to listen to music. Let your emotions follow the emotions of the music, and the sense of picture will come to mind. Third, the magician should love life and pay attention to accumulating bits and pieces of life. ”
Speaking of this, Fu Yandong told a small story of magic innovation. "I remember that one of the magic tricks was the inspiration that came out of me while cooking. I've found that plastic wrap that I use on a daily basis at home can actually be of more use. It occurred to me to replace ropes and chains with it. First of all, plastic wrap is closer to life and more grounded. Secondly, it will make the audience feel more suffocated and increase the visual danger. Later, I used this idea in my performance and it worked very well. Therefore, it is important for a magician to observe life, love life, and always immerse himself in thinking. ”
Nowadays, when Fu Yandong's name is mentioned, everyone knows him as a magic master. In fact, in addition to magic, Fu Yandong's hobbies are particularly extensive, acting in dramas, singing, learning dances, hosting, guest sketches... In his words, Yiduo is not pressurized, and each field can give itself more skills. "Sometimes, I analyze introspection myself, but in fact, what I like is the stage. I think standing on stage and performing is one of the things I enjoy very much. "Magic is a comprehensive art, and the skills cultivated in various fields allow Fu Yandong to bloom with magic and light on every stage."
Q-Beijing Youth Weekly
A- Fu Yandong
Q How do you define a good magic show? Is there a standard?
A Magic is a comprehensive art. Because the magician needs to take care of many performance details on the stage, such as controlling the rhythm and fun of the performance, paying attention to the music control at any time, echoing the audience's reaction, etc., these require the magician's ability to adapt to changes. Therefore, basically a good magic work is first of all the subject matter is refreshing, the second is to let the audience have a strong sense of substitution, and the third is to carry out a perfect stage display under the comprehensive mixing of various aspects.
Q Now that magic's audience is constantly changing, what kind of inheritance and innovation do you think is needed in this field?
A Magic itself is an inherited art, and we all stand on the shoulders of our predecessors to innovate. Since 1999, I have been performing magic tricks as a starring actor on CCTV and local stations, and I have actually felt the difficulty of magic innovation from a very early age. Because every performance needs to be innovative, it takes a lot of time and energy to think about it. After each show, I probably only have ten minutes of fun, and then I think, how can this magic be innovated? In fact, in order to innovate, imitation is the only way, we need to absorb the performance experience and methods of our predecessors, and constantly add our own uniqueness to the performance. This is important.
Q Nowadays, many people like to learn magic, what is the biggest difference between amateur magicians and professional magicians?
A Nowadays, many colleges and universities have magic clubs, and there are many young people who learn magic spontaneously in the amateur. Because the threshold for learning magic is now low, you can find teaching video materials on the Internet at any time, but the difference between amateur and professional (magicians) is in the threshold of art, which is actually very high.
Q As the fourth generation leader of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Magic, can you share with us the development of this intangible cultural heritage skill and the current situation?
A It is the fourth generation of intangible magic that has been passed down to me, and at present, I already have 12 apprentices, which is the largest number of apprentices among the inheritors of the past generations. Of course, my father was also helping me and training them in their creation. At present, I have a very deep feeling, that is, I was born at the right time. Because the state attaches great importance to culture and art, especially the country attaches great importance to intangible cultural heritage, the overall development environment is very good, more and more people will be willing to do this, and it will also allow the indigenous traditional culture and skills to have a better stage.
Magic is also an emotional bond
Q At present, the country has undergone rapid changes, how do you witness it? How do you feel?
A I remember that the first time I went abroad to Japan was in my first year of high school, and I thought Japan was too advanced. By 1995, I was living in Shanghai, and I felt that in just four years, the city of Shanghai was not much different from that of Japan at that time. After that, there were many opportunities to go abroad, and when I participated in the Milan World Expo in 2016, I deeply felt that our motherland was developing rapidly. Later, when I started a nationwide tour in China and set foot on the land of almost every province, I found that all parts of the country had become very modern, and if I had not experienced it myself, it was really difficult to imagine that in such a short period of time, the country was developing so rapidly.
Q Say one thing that is closely related to your motherland in your memory and that impresses you the most.
A Then I still think of the scene on the opening day of the China Pavilion at Expo Milan in 2016. At that time, led by Vice Premier Wang Yang, he contributed a special number of top-notch program performances. Among them, the magic trick I performed was "Reunion Dinner". Because most of the audience at the scene was Overseas Chinese, I chose "Reunion Dinner", a program with special meanings. At that time, I presented many kinds of Chinese snacks to everyone, and finally became a large table of meals, all of which can be tasted.
I remember that day I saw a lot of people in the audience eating with tears in their eyes. Many people are lamenting that the food in our motherland is delicious, and I was also very touched at that time. I feel that whether it is food or magic, in the moment, it has become an emotional bond that binds everyone together in an instant.
Q General Secretary Xi Jinping once said, we are all dreamers, how do you understand this "dream" word?
A "dream" is the foundation of the establishment of magic and the source of our magician's artistic creation. Magic originates from dreams, and magicians are dreamers. And this "dream" also has the meaning of ideals and dreams, in this concept, everyone has a dream and strives for it.
Q In the process of chasing your dreams, what do you think motivates you? What made you successful?
A I don't think I'm particularly successful, but I feel that my main motivation is to have a persistent heart. My father also told me that life is more than endurance, not explosiveness, and the longer you persist, the more chances of success you have than others.
Q When you think you're successful, how do you face a sense of honor and pride?
A Actually, I think that everyone is just on the road to success, and this is a road with no end. In this process, there are only phased victories. When each stage of victory is achieved, the first thing I have to do is to summarize, and the second is to be more humble and conscientious to continue to struggle.
Q In the new year of 2022, what blessings do you want to send to the motherland?
A I really want to wish our great motherland a stronger one, and I also wish all our literary and artistic workers fruitful results.
Edited by Han Haha
Wen Wang Yajing
Character photography By Lee Young-woo