Chang Xiangyu (September 15, 1923 – June 1, 2004), formerly known as Zhang Miaoling, was born in Gong County, Henan Province (now Gongyi City), and was a Performing Artist of Yu Opera. Chang Xiangyu is a deputy to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th National People's Congress, an honorary member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and has served as vice chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association, chairman of the Henan Dramatists Association, president of Henan Yu Theater, president of Henan Provincial Opera School, and professor of Shenyang Conservatory of Music.
Chang Xiangyu, singing cavity words are round, lucky, pure and thick, novel style, with sound to paint love, with love with voice; the performance is strong and fresh, delicate and generous, deep connotation, distinct personality. In expressing the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, it is meticulous, one person and one appearance, vivid. Representative works include "Mulan", "Kao Hong", "Broken Bridge", "Great Sacrifice Pile", "People Cheering horses", "Red Lantern" and so on.
'Drama is bigger than the sky' is the professional code and persistent pursuit of art that Yu opera master Chang Xiangyu has adhered to all her life, and it is also the spiritual wealth she left to her children for a lifetime. Chang Xiangyu has been practicing art for more than 70 years, and has never missed the scene, has not "rolled the beam", and has not changed roles for physical or other personal reasons. Whenever there is a performance in the evening, Chang Xiangyu has been immersed in the role since the afternoon, when she does not care about family affairs and rarely speaks. Sometimes the children were noisy or even louder, and her husband, Chen Charter, immediately whispered a stop, "Don't argue, my mother is preparing for the play." Until he was more than 70 years old, Chang Xiangyu still wore a plate belt and a belly belt every day, and insisted on hanging his throat for half an hour. The children advised her: "Now you don't have much to perform, don't be so tired." She said, "That's not okay, I'm going to be ready to play at any time." ”
Under the influence of her mother, both of Chang Xiangyu's daughters devoted themselves to pear gardening. When the eldest daughter, Chang Xiaoyu, was six or seven years old, after accidentally seeing her mother's style on the stage, she shouted to learn drama. Chang Xiangyu told her solemnly: Once you enter this door, there is no way back, either you will not sing, or you will sing well. One day, the weather was very hot, Chang Xiaoyu was sweating profusely after practicing, so tired that he couldn't walk, so he took advantage of his mother's absence and thought of stealing a lazy and taking a break. But before she could sit down for two minutes, her mother suddenly appeared. As soon as Chang Xiangyu saw her daughter resting on the ground, she picked up the whip and was about to beat her: "Others are practicing, why are you resting?" Are you different from others? Or are you better at learning than others? Chang Xiangyu not only scolded her daughter, but also intensified her training as a punishment for her laziness.
Although Chang Xiaoyu was able to appear on stage alone, her mother was still very strict with her artistically. Once, Chang Xiaoyu performed the play "The Great Sacrifice Pile". She was careful not to make a mistake in the first three performances. In the fourth scene, she accidentally sang wrong on the stage, and in the eyes of Chang Xiangyu, who loved drama like a life, this was unforgivable. As soon as he returned home, Chang Xiangyu picked up the rattan stick and beat his daughter up. Since then, Chang Xiaoyu has never dared to act sloppily anymore. Even if it is a success and fame, singing a "Mulan" that I don't know how many times she sang on stage, Chang Xiaoyu still has to do her homework before the performance. She said: "After being beaten, my mother made me understand that for actors, the drama is bigger than the sky. It's something I'll remember for the rest of my life. ”
"If you want to put on a good show, you have to suffer hardships." This is what Chang Xiangyu often says to children. She didn't seem to be as gentle and considerate as ordinary mothers, and from childhood to adulthood she only taught them one thing: to suffer. There is bitterness to eat, there is no bitterness to find bitterness, absolutely can not be special because it is Chang Xiangyu's child. Chang Xiaoyu and her mother worked in a troupe, and Chang Xiangyu never provided her with any convenience. Every time I go out to perform, I never let my daughter ride in the same car as myself. After Chang Xiaoyu starred in the troupe, the troupe decided to give her a salary increase. After hearing this, Chang Xiangyu said to the leader of the regiment: "She is still young, she has to suffer more, and after only two or three plays, her salary increase is not good, which is not good for her growth." Behind the "drama is bigger than the sky" is chang Xiangyu's deep love for the country and the people that Chang Xiangyu passed on to the children. She often told the children about her transformation process from an elegant artist to a respected people's artist, and always warned the children to listen to the party and not forget the people.
Throughout his life, Chang Xiangyu "sang with the footprints of the common people", from the Tianshan Reclamation Area to the Daqing Oilfield, from the Korean front to the frontier outposts, always maintained the habit of performing condolences to the troops and localities for more than three months every year, and enthusiastically dedicated his art to the people. In the memory of the youngest daughter Chang Ruyu, the happiest thing for her mother before she died was to act for the people. When she was studying drama, her mother often said to her that "singing opera is what the people like." Can't infect the audience, don't you just have dry eyes? Chang Xiangyu also educated her second daughter Chen Xiaoxiang: "Acting should be responsible for the people, and performances should be worthy of the audience."
Chang Xiangyu's life was simple, but when the country was in difficulty and the masses were suffering, she was always generous and selfless. She often said to her children: "The money that should not be spent cannot be spent at all, and the money that should be spent must be spent tens of thousands." The difficulty of the state is the difficulty of oneself. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, she took out her savings for many years, sold the troupe's only truck and her own house, and donated the Xiangyu Opera Society fighter jet for a charity performance. In 2003, when SARS was raging, Chang Xiangyu's health was already very poor, and she took out 10,000 yuan from her meager salary to donate to the state. Chang Xiangyu rarely participates in commercial performances and refuses to take commercial advertisements. This ten thousand yuan is indeed a considerable amount for an old man who only relies on wages to collect people.
Edit: West Side Commandments
Source: History of the Communist Party of China