Text | Wang Zhenyi
Edit | Sun Dasheng
As the holder of the bull's ear in the Chinese cross-talk industry today, it is well known that Guo Degang's best partner is Yu Qian, and his master is the famous cross-talk artist Hou Yaowen. What many people don't know is that many years ago, there was a person who could not only assume the role of Yu Qian by Guo Degang's side, but also care for him like Hou Yaowen, his name was Zhang Wenshun.
Zhang Wenshun and Guo Degang met in 1998, and this year Guo Degang was very depressed, making a living in teahouses and small theaters. Before this, Guo Degang originally wanted to integrate into the mainstream cross-talk industry and worship famous masters. In 1988, he went to Beijing for the first time to work in the All-China Federation of Trade Unions Cultural and Labor Corps, but he only let him do miscellaneous work and did not let him say crosstalk. In 1994, he went to Beijing for the second time with 100 yuan and stayed up for a week before returning to Tianjin.
But Guo Degang did not have a dead heart, in 1995, he borrowed 4,000 yuan from his classmates to go to Beijing again, and there was still no mainstream cross-talk group willing to accept him, nor was everyone willing to accept him as an apprentice. In desperation, Guo Degang could only go to the tea house and small theater first to say that cross-talk let himself live, and he slowly put down the idea of entering the mainstream cross-talk industry.
When Zhang Wenshun, 60, met Guo Degang, 25, in 1998, after listening to Guo Degang's several cross-talks, Zhang Wenshun felt that Guo Degang would definitely become a character in the future, and he admired this young man, and he and Guo Degang became friends for a long time. For Zhang Wenshun, Guo Degang is also very respectful, Zhang Wenshun is not only a good cross-talker, but also a strange person.
Zhang Wenshun was born in 1938, is the son of the Zhang family in Beijing Dashilar Jindian, received a good education from childhood, but he liked cross-talk, in the first year of his freshman year he became the first scientist of the Beijing Qu Art Troupe, he dropped out of school, he became a classmate with Wang Qianxiang and Li Jindou, and studied under Tong Dafang.
However, what everyone did not expect was that Zhang Wenshun fell in love when he was in the Beijing Qu Art Troupe, and at that time, the group stipulated that students were not allowed to fall in love. After the leaders of the regiment knew about Zhang Wenshun's love affair, they bluntly said that they wanted to fire him, and later said that as long as Zhang Wenshun was willing to correct his mistakes, he could not be expelled. But Zhang Wenshun was unwilling to compromise, nor was he willing to betray love, so he was expelled from the Beijing Qu Art Troupe, and when he talked about this past many years later, Zhang Wenshun was still indignant, he said: "They are not allowed to talk about love normally, they are only eleven or twelve years old, I am twenty, and I am not allowed to talk? After leaving the Beijing Qu Art Troupe, Zhang Wenshun and his girlfriend got married and had children and helped each other to grow old.
In addition to marrying his girlfriend, in order to live, Zhang Wenshun worked as a worker, did business, and engaged in ancient construction, although he earned some money, but he still could not put down crosstalk, so after the reform and opening up, he joined the "Beijing Experimental Art Troupe" and stood on the stage again. When he met Guo Degang, they hit it off and set up the "Beijing Cross-Talk Conference", which was later renamed "Deyun Society".
In the early days of the development of the "Beijing Xiangsheng Conference", the operation was very difficult, and Zhang Wenshun took his own money to support Guo Degang and did not ask for returns. In order to let Guo Degang have a job to live in, Zhang Wenshun also deliberately used a lot of his connections to let Guo Degang enter the qu art troupe, unfortunately Zhang Wenshun worked hard for a period of time, and finally failed to succeed. And in order to make the Deyun Society develop and grow, Zhang Wenshun also encouraged Guo Degang to accept apprentices, and set the eight-character section name of "Cloud Crane Nine Xiao, Dragon Teng, Four Seas" for his apprentices.
Although Zhang Wenshun, who was famous at that time, sat in the Deyun Society, there were still cross-talk colleagues who came to the Deyun Society to make trouble, generally at this time Guo Degang had not yet gone out to deal with it, Zhang Wen had already gotten up to reprimand the comers and drove the other party away.
Even one year, there was an artist who called on everyone to boycott the Deyun Society, zhang Wenshun who learned the news was furious, he insisted on rushing to the other side to defend himself, Guo Degang quickly stopped Zhang Wenshun, Zhang Wenshun was still very angry, he said: There is a ability to compete on the stage, and the yin people under the stage are something! I asked him to reason, I beat him to go, I Zhang Wenshun cancer, let him kill me! At this time, Zhang Wenshun was already suffering from esophageal cancer, and his body was not as good as a day, but for the sake of Deyun Society, he could not take care of these.
Fortunately, in 2005, Guo Degang was on fire, and the Deyun Society was also on fire, and Guo Degang worshiped Hou Yaowen as a teacher in 2004, and Zhang Wenshun was happier than anyone. Although Guo Degang became famous and his life improved, Zhang Wenshun still escorted Guo Degang's development. At that time, in order to exclude the famous Guo Degang, there were cross-talk peers who launched an anti-three-custom movement, and in the face of the attack on Guo Degang, Zhang Wenshun desperately protected him.
Some media once asked Zhang Wenshun: You gave Guo Degang a praise, and now that he is red, you are still unknown, have you not been unbalanced? Zhang Wenshun replied: "Someone must sacrifice, and there is an old man behind a successful man." I was happy to make him a step, and he pedaled up, and I was happy. ”
In 2008, the 70-year-old Zhang Wenshun's condition became increasingly serious, and on his 70th birthday, he performed his last cross-talk performance in his life, and he had to be hospitalized for a long time. In order to make Zhang Wenshun not lonely, Guo Degang asked the people of the Deyun Society to serve in shifts.
One afternoon in 2009, Guo Degang went to the hospital to visit Zhang Wenshun, zhang Wenshun's mental state was very good that day, Guo Degang knew that Zhang Wenshun had something to say to him, so he asked the others to leave the ward, and only the two of them were left in the ward.
Guo Degang pretended to be relaxed and said: Say, do you want to do it? Guo Degang did not expect Zhang Wenshun to suddenly hold a fist to him, and said very solemnly: "I know it is not okay, the granddaughter of the old wife, please." Guo Degang was stunned for a moment and said hurriedly: "Rest assured, I have it." Hearing Guo Degang's words, Zhang Wenshun folded his hands together to express his gratitude, and at that moment Guo Degang could no longer bear it, and he burst into tears.
On February 16, 2009, Zhang Wenshun died at the age of 71, and he left the word "unity" for the Deyun Society on his deathbed. In order to handle Zhang Wenshun's aftermath, the Deyun Society suspended the performance for 7 days, and Guo Degang made a high-profile sacrifice to Zhang Wenshun, saying: "Do the best white thing, I see who of them has died Zhang Wenshun!" ”
Now Zhang Wenshun's daughter and son-in-law are working as middle-level cadres in the Deyun Society, and Zhang Wenshun's grandson Ning Yunxiang initially said cross-talk in the Deyun Society and then turned to the background. Zhang Wenshun's portrait is hung in the background of the Deyun Society, juxtaposed with the remains of Guo Degang's master Hou Yaowen, and on the first and fifteenth day of the first month of each month, Guo Degang will give incense to the two benefactors and nobles.
I still remember that once Guo Degang was interviewed by the media and talked about Zhang Wenshun, he said, "Mr. Zhang is the founder of the Deyun Society, without him there would be no Deyun Society." At that time, if it were not for Mr. Zhang's help, I would have been very, very difficult... For more than ten years, the old gentleman spared no effort for the Deyun Society, and he was the smartest person. ”