Peking opera is one of the opera genres formed in Beijing, which is formed on the basis of Hui opera and Han opera, absorbing the characteristics of some operas such as Kunqu opera and Qin cavity. Although the birthplace is in Beijing, compared with Shanghai after the opening of the port, the performances of the Beijing Peking Opera Class Society are not as flexible in market-oriented operation, especially in the promotion of famous corners, stage lighting effects and other aspects, Shanghai has been innovative. The prosperity of the Shanghai Theater has also prompted Tan Xinpei, Cheng Yanqiu, Mei Lanfang, Xun Huisheng, Ma Lianliang and other famous northern actors to go south, which has been loved and sought after by southern audiences. As a professional periodical of drama, Half Moon Drama magazine was born under the background of the innovation and prosperity of Shanghai Peking Opera and became a popular magazine at that time.
The performance photos in the magazine "Half Moon Drama" in the collection of the Beijing Municipal Archives reproduce the scene of the famous Peking Opera characters of the Northern School of Peking opera performing in the south.
The "Half Moon Drama", released on January 15, 1947, published stills of Cheng Yanqiu's "Dream in the Garden"
Mei Lanfang inscription "Na Yu Rail"
Among the archives in the collection of the Beijing Municipal Archives, there are three issues of the magazine "Half Moon Drama" during the Republic of China period. "Half Moon Drama" is a professional drama magazine, although the magazine was born in Shanghai, but the impact of the whole country is very large. Because among the writers of this magazine are the well-known Peking Opera performance artists Mei Lanfang and Yu Zhenfei, as well as the playwright Tian Han. This magazine preserves the performance images of the famous horns in the north and south, which is of reference significance for the study of the history of the development of Peking Opera in the Republic of China period, and the various advertisements published in the magazine also provide information for the study of the social folklore of the time.
In April 1937, the magazine "Half Moon Drama" was founded in Shanghai, and the editor-in-chief was Zheng Zizhuo (opera critic, alias plum blossom museum owner). The initial sales volume was 28,000 copies, which was a bestseller at the time. Although the start was good, due to the war and other reasons, "Half Moon Drama" was suspended three times. On November 1, 1946, in the third reissuance of "Half Moon Drama", the calligraphy inscribed by Mei Lanfang was published: Na Yu Rail. Rail is the meaning of norms. Na Yu Rail expresses Mei Lanfang's joy that the magazine is finally on the right track.
In addition to Peking Opera performances, Mei Lanfang is also good at calligraphy and painting. Art is interconnected, and his calligraphy and paintings are beautiful and elegant, with both gods and forms. He loves flowers and loves to plant flowers, especially morning glory. The inaugural issue of "Half Moon Drama" published Mei Lanfang's article "Flower Miscellaneous Talk", which talked about how he began to grow flowers from about the age of 22 and loved morning glory. He once visited Japan and found more than 100 kinds of morning glory, so he introduced them to his home to try to plant successfully. He visited Europe and found that foreign gardeners planted five-colored grass into Western, which he particularly appreciated, and after returning to China, he also tried planting in his own yard, planting five-colored grass into two words of English joy. Mei Lanfang, who loves flowers, also likes to paint. He had many painting teachers, all of whom were full of warp. For example, Kang Youwei's disciple Luo Luogong compiled the historical notes "The Change of Gengzi Kingdom"; the painter Wang Mengbai of the "Red Tree Double Ape Diagram"; Chen Shizeng, Qi Baishi, Ling Wenyuan and Chen Banding, known as the "Four Masters of The Beijing Master".
Mei Lanfang also specially studied painting with Qi Baishi as a teacher, and the interaction between teachers and students became a good story.
Qi Baishi (file photo)
In his memoirs, Qi Baishi recounted the scene when Mei Lanfang received mei Lanfang in the study of "Yuyuxuan" in the Beilu Grass Garden outside the front gate: "Mei Lanfang's family planted a lot of flowers and trees, and there were more than a hundred styles of morning glory alone... He sang a passage of the noble concubine drunk, very beautiful. At the same time, there were two other people present: one was Wang Xiashi, who taught him to paint plum blossoms, and I was also an acquaintance; the other was Li Shikan, a Fujianese man, who taught him to compose poetry, and Shikan has since become my friend. ”
In 1924, Mei Lanfang officially studied with Qi Baishi, and as long as he had free time, he would go to Qi Baishi's home on time to learn painting. Once, when they were invited to a banquet together, Qi Baishi accidentally lost the invitation. Qi Baishi, who was wearing an old cloth robe, was interrogated by the concierge and was very embarrassed outside the door. After Mei Lanfang saw it, she quickly went out to greet the teacher, and personally helped him walk up to the front row, introducing him to everyone: "This is a painter Qi Baishi, who is also my teacher." ”
Mei Lanfang
Qi Baishi sent Mei Lanfang a "Charcoal Map in the Snow" with a poem, Poem Yun:
I have seen the first dynasty enjoy the peace,
Cloth and vegetables eat the secretary of state.
And now it has fallen to Chang'an City,
Fortunately, Mei Lang knows his name.
After Mei Lanfang received the painting, she was also very excited and replied with a poem:
The friendship between the teacher and the painting art is deep,
How can a student forget his or her mentorship.
The world is cold, but it is so,
It is my duty to respect my teacher.
Cheng Yanqiu rehearsed a new play of the War of Resistance
After the September 18 Incident, the Japanese Kou pressed forward step by step. When the country was in trouble, Cheng Yanqiu faced the tragic situation of the invasion of the motherland's great mountains and rivers, and the pain was in his eyes and anxious in his heart. In order to stimulate the passion of the whole nation for the War of Resistance and fulfill the social responsibility of an artist, Cheng Yanqiu adapted and rehearsed the new anti-war drama "Fei Gong Ren" based on the Kunqu opera "Iron Crown Figure". The play "Fei Gong Ren" is divided into "striking the bell", "burning the palace", "guarding the gate", "killing the prison", "stabbing the tiger", "sacrificing the grave" and other scenes, showing that the palace women will not hesitate to take their lives and avenge the shame when the country is broken.
The Peking opera "Fei Gong Ren Thorn Tiger", adapted from the Kunqu opera "Iron Crown Diagram", was originally published in the "Ming Shi Liechuan And Houfei Biography". At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the palace maid Fei Zhen'e was sixteen years old and was the princess's personal maid. After Li Zicheng captured the city of Beijing, the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself on the coal hill of the Forbidden City on the day of the destruction of the city, and the palace maid Fei Zhen'e was determined to take revenge. Li Zicheng rewarded her to his subordinate general, Li Guo, a tiger, and asked him to become intimate with Li Guo. On the night of their marriage, Fei Zhen'e pretended to be earnest and persuaded to drink, drunk Li Guo, and stabbed Li Guo to death with a knife, killing himself and martyring himself. The performance of this play expresses Mr. Cheng Yanqiu's uncompromising patriotic feelings in the context of the destruction of the country and the death of the family.
Stills of "Fei Guan Ren Thorn Tiger" published in "Half Moon Drama"
According to historical records, Cheng Yanqiu's performance is very wonderful and distinctive. In addition to the Peking Opera Kunqu opera two pot (Peking Opera and other dramas on the same stage), "Thorn Tiger" a, originally kunqu opera singing and performance is very wonderful, very distinctive, Mr. Cheng in order to highlight some plots, another way, a change in the kunqu slow rhythm of the normal, the final paragraph of the kunqu opera card changed to the rhythm and emotions are very fierce "Xipi allegro", indignant and passionate, the effect is particularly strong. Mr. Cheng changed this way, and the feeling of this section changed greatly, so that singing can better express the situation and character emotions of the characters at this moment than using Kun Cavity.
In the last scene "Sacrifice to the Grave", Fei Zhen'e, played by Cheng Yanqiu, went to the self-hanging place of the Chongzhen Emperor of Coal Mountain to pay tribute, expressing the sorrow of the deceased king and the pain of the subjugation of the country, which made people cut off their liver and intestines. The background of the pictorial photo is the Forbidden City, which is majestic and very imposing. Yu Zhenfei played the Chongzhen Emperor, Hou Xirui played Li Chuangwang, Wu Fuqin played the princess, Zhong Xijiu played "a tiger" Li Guo, the pictorial specially explained that the person who played "a tiger", for the old worker Zhong Xijiu, and Hou Xirui were disciples of the same department, according to the Peking Opera historical data, among the Xizi scientists, Zhong Xijiu of Fulian Chengke Class was a pure horn of Fulian ChengxiZike, who entered the department a year earlier than Hou Xirui, with a high body, a good voice, singing net for the grandfather to enjoy rice and eat, and suppressing everyone in the class. In this play, Yu Zhenfei wears a beard, plays the Chongzhen Emperor as a Kunqu official, and plays a truly touching and three-point king who is at the end of the road.
According to the "Chronicle of Cheng Yanqiu", the play was first performed at the Shanghai Golden Grand Theatre on April 9 and 10, 1937, premiered in the New Grand Theatre in Beijing on June 4 and 5, 1937, and re-performed at the Shanghai Golden Grand Theatre on November 26, 1938.
Mei Cheng performed together in Shanghai
In the 1930s and 1940s, the Chinese Grand Theatre in Shanghai, together with the Great Stage of Civilization, the Stage of Heavenly Toad and the Common Stage, was called the Four Great Peking Opera Stages of Shanghai, and as one of the Peking Opera stages favored by the famous peking opera artists of the North and the South, Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Ma Lianliang and others of the Northern School peking opera had performed here.
According to the "Biography of Mei Lanfang", in 1932, Mei Lanfang moved from Beijing to Shanghai. At the beginning of 1933, Mei Lanfang staged a new play "Anti-Golden Soldier" for the first time on the Shanghai Tiantou Stage. The story takes place in the last year of the Northern Song Dynasty, when the Jin people invaded the south and reached the north bank of the Yangtze River. The Runzhou general Han Shizhong and his wife Liang Hongyu jointly plotted to resist Jin, and Liang Hongyu personally dispatched troops and ordered his two sons to fight bravely to kill the enemy. She and Han Shizhong toured the battalions to encourage morale. The next day, the two sides fought a battle on the Jinshan River, Liang Hongyu beat drums to help the battle, and personally led female soldiers to engage. Han Shizhong led his second son to take the lead and charge into the battlefield. Under the simultaneous attack of various large armies, Jin Wushu was led to Huang Tiandang by Wang Da, a Song soldier who was a deceitful guide, and Han Shizhong and his wife led the army to advance by land and water, besieging the Jin soldiers in the Jedi and winning a great victory.
On February 26, 1936, Mei Lanfang performed a new drama "Life and Death Hate" on the Shanghai Tiantou Stage. The play was later made into a film, the first color opera film ever made in China. In early 1938, after Mei Lanfang, her family and the troupe's cast and crew went to Hong Kong to perform again, the family stayed in Hong Kong. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Mei Lanfang grew a beard and refused to act for the Japanese to express her patriotism. In the article "Half Moon Drama", it is said that during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Meng Xiaodong and other famous people, in order to maintain patriotic festivals, closed their doors, did not participate in commercial performances, never performed for Japanese, and did not appear on the Peking Opera stage in Shanghai. It was not until October 1945, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, that Mei Lanfang re-appeared on stage and performed Kunqu opera "Broken Bridge" and "Garden Dreams" in cooperation with Yu Zhenfei at the Shanghai Majestic Theatre.
Stills of "Dream in the Garden" published in "Half Moon Drama"
On January 15, 1947, the magazine "Half Moon Drama" published an advertisement, led by Mei Lanfang, the Mei Opera Troupe, together with Yang Senbao, Yang Shengchun, Liu Lianrong, Jiang Miaoxiang, Yu Zhenfei and other members, every night at 7 o'clock in the China Grand Theatre. Originally known as Samsung Stage, the China Grand Theatre is located at No. 704 Niuzhuang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, completed in early 1930 and originally scheduled to open on January 30, the first day of the first lunar month. However, due to the disturbance of Shanghai gangster Jin Jinrong, he said that the stage could only be opened after being named Rongji Stage, and after repeated mediation and intercession, it was renamed Samsung Stage. As a result, the opening of Chinese grand theaters could only be postponed.
Since the China Grand Theatre invited mei lanfang troupe to perform, the Tiantou Stage invited the Cheng Yanqiu Troupe to perform in Shanghai with lightning speed. The Mei Troupe of the Chinese Grand Theater has a strong lineup, with yang Baosen, Ha Baoshan, and Wang Shaoting, Xiaosheng Yu Zhenfei, Wusheng Yang Shengchun, Danjiao Furongcao, Wudan Ban Xiaochao, Lao Dan He Runchu (Liu Binkun anti-string); Liu Lianrong, Wang Quankui, Ye Shengmao, and Yang Ronglou; and Xiao Changhua, Liu Binkun, and Han Jinkui.
The lineup of the Qiusheng Society of Cheng Yanqiu on the Tiantou Stage is also very neat, with Tan Fuying and Wang Shaolou, Zhang Chunyan and Li Shilin among the old students; Ye Shenglan and Chu Jinpeng in the small students; Gao Shenglin in Wusheng; Zhong Lianfang and Wu Fuqin in Dan; Yan Shishan in Wudan; Sun Futing and He Shengqing in Laodan; Yuan Shihai, Guo Yuanfen, and Su Lianhan in the net; cao Ergeng, Ci Shaoquan, and Li Siguang in the ugly. The lineups of both sides are very strong, so that the audience who love Mei opera and cheng opera are addicted to drama.
"Half Moon Drama" magazine recorded in detail that after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the opera industry carried out 31 business performances and charity performances. In order to celebrate the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, establish a relief fund for the suffering of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, assist the families of martyrs who were martyred in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and establish charity funds in Northeast China, the theater and the Welfare Fund of the Peking Association invited mei lanfang troupe and Cheng Yanqiu troupe to jointly hold three 31-day business performances and charity performances in Shanghai. The first was at the Majestic Theatre for a 10-day business performance; the second at the Nanjing Theatre for 13 days; the third at the Queen's Theatre for 25 days; and the fourth at the China Grand Theatre for 60 days. The actors of the Mei Opera Troupe participating in the charity performances included Jiang Miaoxiang, Yu Zhenfei and other actors; the actors of Cheng Yanqiu's Qiusheng Society included Cheng Yanqiu, Ma Lianliang, Zhao Rongchen, Yuan Shihai, Li Shaochun, Ye Shenglan and other actors, and more than 40 people participated in the charity performances.
Mei Lanfang plays Yang Guifei in the Peking Opera "Guifei Drunk" (photographed in the 1950s)
Volunteer performances are performed at Lyceum, Maggie, Toad, Queen, Nanjing, China Grand Theatre and Golden Theatre. The repertoire of the performance includes "Thorny Tiger", "Dream in the Garden", "Si Fan", "Broken Bridge", "Odd Double Society", "Dragon and Phoenix Chengxiang", "Cosmic Peak", "Fenhe Bay", "Baolian Lantern", "Silang Visiting Mother", "Royal Monument Pavilion", "Spring and Autumn Match", "Hongni Guan", "Wang Baojun", "Bawang Bijie", "Mu Tianwang", "Fishing and Killing Family", "Four Five Flower Cave", "Female Solution", "Famen Temple", "Noble Concubine Drunk" and other 30 plays. Audiences familiar with Peking Opera know that most of the plays are still performed today. Not many viewers know "Four Five Flower Cave", this play is a strange drama, taken from the two characters in "Water Margin" Pan Jinlian and Wu Dalang. Wu Dalang's cooking cake business is not good, and after a verbal altercation with Pan Jinlian, he runs away from home to run to his brother Wu Song, and halfway encounters Pan Jinlian, who is transformed into a five-poison essence. Later, the official government was alarmed, and Bao Zheng was also difficult to distinguish between true and false, so he invited Zhang Tianshi to ambush the demons. Later, four pairs of people performed two truths and two falsehoods, which was called "Four Five Flower Cave", and the eight pairs of performances were called "Eight Five Flower Cave".
North and South famous characters co-starred in "Shiro Visits Mother"
"Auspicious opera", also known as "auspicious opera", is a type of auspicious, cheerful and lively repertoire that is often performed by the Peking Opera circle and the ticket industry during the New Year's Festival, festive church meetings, the establishment of associations and the gathering of colleagues. "Auspicious drama" means festive and auspicious, and takes more group plays with many roles and cheerful content. The famous characters "pick the class" also often choose the lively drama texts with good skills and good meanings as their own "auspicious plays". The auspicious dramas in the Peking opera circle include "Dragon and Phoenix Chengxiang", "Dingjun Mountain", "Hero Society", "Baishou Tu", "Suolin Capsule", "Red Luan Xi", "Shilang Visiting Mother" and so on. Among them, "Shilang Visits Mother" and "Dragon and Phoenix Chengxiang" have a complete range of dramas, integrating Lao Sheng, Hua Face, QingYi, Xiao Sheng, Lao Dan and Clown in one, singing, reading, doing and playing very wonderfully. The scene is grand and the plot is vivid. Singing, listening, and watching are all enjoyable, and they have been performed for a long time to this day.
On November 1, 1946, the cover of "Half Moon Drama" was the Peking Opera "Shilang Visiting Mother", starring Mei Lanfang as the Princess of the Iron Mirror, and Wang Qinsheng as Yang Yanhui. This story has a real background, Song Taizong northern expedition to the Liao state, intending to retake Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. However, due to various reasons, the Song army won first and then lost, and the loss of troops was broken.
"Shilang Visits His Mother" is a fictional story based on the three real historical figures of the Yang family, Yang Ye, Yang Yanzhao and Yang Wenguang, in this real context. Yang Ye's fourth son, Yang Yanhui, was captured in the Battle of Jinshatan, changed his name to Muyi, married Princess Tiejing, and became a horse of the Liao State. Fifteen years later, the Liao and Song dynasties fought again. She Taijun was ordered to personally go out on the expedition and led a large army with Yang Yanzhao to Yanmen Pass to confront the Liao army. Yang Silang was anxious about his mother, but he was unable to pass the pass. His wife, Princess Iron Mirror, learned the truth and designed a clever arrow to help her husband successfully pass the pass to visit her mother in Songying. Yang Shilang kept his promise and rushed back to Liao State overnight, but was still discovered by Empress Xiao of Liao, who was furious and wanted to behead Si Lang, and only after Princess Tiejing's bitter intercession did she pardon Shi Lang and reconcile the family. As a classic play, Mei Lanfang has performed with many famous Peking opera artists.
Among the recordings of the play "Shilang Visiting Mother" is the live recording of the 1947 version of the joint performance of the Famous Men of the North and the South at the China Grand Theatre in Shanghai. On September 12, 1947, the famous Peking opera artists of the North and South Performed "Shilang Visiting Mother" at the China Grand Theatre in Shanghai. From the existing live recordings, it can be seen that the famous performers include Mei Lanfang, Zhou Xinfang, Ma Lianliang, Tan Fuying, Li Shaochun, Furong Cao, Jiang Miaoxiang, Ma Fulu, Gao Yuqian, etc., and famous artists from various factions appeared on the stage to interpret classic famous dramas for fans. The famous artists have their own characteristics and dedicate a classic repertoire full of charm, which has become one of the reserved plays of Peking Opera.
The front door of the two theaters played in the ring
After the surrender of the Japanese on August 15, 1945, Beijing, like the shanghai theater stage, Peking Opera masters competed to perform the repertoire. The most appealing box office are the famous characters in the Peking Opera circle, who earn box office revenue for the theater because the fans spend money to listen to the plays of famous actors, so as to quench their thirst. Mei Lanfang Troupe's big drama "Shilang Visits Mother" makes fans listen to it and is addicted, while "Selling Horses", "Touching Monuments", "Dingjun Mountain", "Zhan Taiping", "Zhu Curtain Village" and other plays, general fans feel that they cannot quench their thirst. If the theater has a low ticket price, it can be said that if the hornless child still wants to earn a big package of silver, and the theater that wants to make money wants to get a vote, the result is that all of them fail, because it is a matter of making big money and watching small plays, which no one wants.
In the second issue of the sixth volume of "Half Moon Drama", the famous theater theorist and educator Xu Muyun's article "Xu Sheng's Head Card Is Unreliable" was published. This article tells the story of the famous Peking opera singers in two theaters outside the front gate of Beijing. Xu Muyun, a native of Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, founded the Shanghai Drama School and the Chinese Drama School. He made friends with Mei Lanfang and Yan Jupeng, and also learned from Cheng Yanqiu and Jiao Juyin's experience in running a school. He has published "The Shadow of Pear Garden" and "The Secret History of Pear Garden in the Ancient Capital Palace", telling the story of opera actors from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.
There are two theaters outside the front door, not far apart, one called Enlightened and one called Xinming. The enlightened protagonists are Mei Lanfang and Wang Fengqing, while the new Ming includes Yu Shuyan and Yang Xiaolou, Bai Peony (i.e. Xun Huisheng), Chen Delin, Wang Changlin, Qian Jinfu and so on. Xinming's lineup was so strong, but at the time it was only a draw with Kaiming.
Outside the front door of the Republic of China era, there should be more than 12 hutongs and more than 36 theater buildings. First of all, there is Guanghe Cha Lou in the east of Meatshi Street Road, Guangde Lou at the west entrance of Dashilar, Qingyuan Garden in the east, Sanqing Garden in the middle, fresh fish mouth opposite Dashilar in the middle, Tianyuan Garden in the middle, and the grain store street with a T-shaped shape of Dashilar has Zhonghe Garden, a cornered door frame alley has Tongle Tea Garden, plus the first stage of Liushujing Street in Zhushikou, the enlightened theater on the south side of the road, the Xinming Theater in the west exit, the civilized tea garden on Coal Market Street, and the Zhengyi Ancestral Hall along the West River outside the front gate. The gathering of famous characters makes the audience more addicted than the drama.
Mei Shangcheng Xun's four famous dans, who competed for this play (performing a complete story) that year, were at least six minutes (90 minutes) and eight minutes (120 minutes), and anyone who paid to watch the play did not feel wronged. So for many years it was all Danhang hanging the top card. Later, Ma Lianliang and other famous artists rehearsed this play, and with "Crying Qin Qiong", "Rouge Powder Meter", "Borrowing the East Wind", "Spring and Autumn Pen" and the whole "Black Donkey Complaint", etc., Qingkui's "Gift of Silk Robes" was paired with Hao Shouchen, and it was especially felt that they complemented each other. In this way, I finally gave the old student a breath of contention. Before and after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Qilin Boy in the south performed "Hatred at the End of the Ming Dynasty" and "Chasing Han Xin", which won praise. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Mei Lanfang, one of the four famous dans, withdrew from the stage and grew a beard. Shang Xiaoyun specially ran a science class to cultivate reserve talents, and the two retired, and the Peking Opera performance market was greatly affected. It was not until the comeback after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression that the audience saw the figure of the famous character who had been reunited for a long time.