Chang Xiangyu, like Mei Lanfang, is a master of Chinese opera and is very patriotic.
Unlike Mei Lanfang, Mei Lanfang only had her youngest son to inherit the mantle, while most of Chang Xiangyu's children were engaged in the business of Yu opera and had achieved good results.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > Chang Xiangyu's master's path</h1>
Chang Xiangyu, whose real name is Zhang Miaoling, was born in 1923 to a poor peasant family in Gong County, Henan Province.
My father was a traditional folk opera artist, but in that chaotic era, ordinary people had difficulty solving the problem of food and clothing. As a child, my hometown suffered from famine. Chang Xiangyu went out with her mother to ask for food, and only barely survived.
In order to get out of the predicament, her mother once wanted to sell Chang Xiangyu to a large family as a child bride. But his father was unwilling, in order to earn food to eat, Chang Xiangyu entered the drama club with his father at the age of five to learn drama.
Due to the low social status of opera talents at that time, many people were reluctant to let people know that someone in the family had learned drama. Under pressure, Chang Xiangyu could only change his name to Chang Xiangyu.
Chang Xiangyu's high talent for opera, coupled with hard study, she soon became an excellent Yu opera actress. Chang Xiangyu became a leading actor in the troupe at the age of 14 and quickly broke through his fame.
Although he became famous at a young age, Chang Xiangyu did not lie in fame and fortune. She has collaborated with many famous Yu opera artists and written many modern Yu operas on the basis of inheriting traditions.
In the long-term cooperation with many famous artists, Chang Xiangyu has formed a unique "Changpai" art.
Chang Xiangyu not only achieved great achievements in art, but also her patriotic enthusiasm is also worthy of appreciation. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chang Xiangyu did not hide in the rear, but actively went to various places to conduct charity performances, and often went to the front line to comfort the officers and men of the war.
After the war to resist US aggression and aid Korea began, in order to support the volunteer army. Chang Xiangyu even took out all his savings, sold his car, and then performed more than a hundred consecutive performances, and finally donated a fighter jet to the country.
Chang Xiangyu's feats made the people of the whole country feel sincere admiration, and also set off a wave of donations of money and materials for the volunteer army in the country.
The volunteers named the aircraft donated by Chang Xiangyu "Chang Xiangyu" as a recognition of Chang Xiangyu.
After entering the period of peaceful construction, Chang Xiangyu did not lie on the merit book, but has been committed to developing and improving Yu opera, so that Yu opera can be more close to the people.
For the development of modern Yu opera, Chang Xiangyu often performed in rural areas and factories, and these performances allowed many people to feel the charm of Yu opera, so the influence of Yu opera was further developed.
After the reform and opening up, there has been a significant decline in the national opera. Due to the efforts of Chang Xiangyu, Yu opera not only did not show obvious decline, but showed a good momentum of development.
In the context of the market economy, Chang Xiangyu knows that if Yu opera wants to develop, talent will always be the first. Therefore, since the 1960s, Chang Xiangyu has focused on cultivating Yu opera talents.
Chang Xiangyu received many apprentices in her lifetime, and among her apprentices, there were well-known Yu opera actors such as Sun Yuju, Wang Suzhen, and Gu Xiurong, who were the backbone of contemporary Yu opera.
In addition to receiving apprentices, Chang Xiangyu naturally hoped that his children could inherit his Yu opera career.
Nowadays, although Chang Xiangyu's daughters are all engaged in the cause of Yu opera, the younger daughter Chang Ruyu has had many twists and turns on the road to Yu opera.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > Chang Xiangyu has a happy family</h1>
Speaking of Chang Xiangyu's children, it is necessary to mention Chang Xiangyu's family. Chang Xiangyu met Chen Xiangyu when he was young, and after the two met, Chen Charter quickly pursued Chang Xiangyu.
However, at that time, Chang Xiangyu had many suitors around her, and Chen Charter, who was divorced and had a son, was not her first choice.
However, Chen Xiangyu was talented, often giving advice to Chang Xiangyu's script, and later writing a script tailored for Chang Xiangyu, which made Chang Xiangyu gradually moved to Chen Charter.
After the two married, Chen Charter gave up his job to concentrate on assisting his wife's career. However, due to Chen's progressive ideas, he was arrested by Kuomintang agents.
After his release from prison, Chen Charter has also been closely monitored by the Kuomintang, and for the safety of Chang Xiangyu, the two can only marry in secret.
On the eve of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chang Xiangyu and Chen Charter officially revealed their identities. After this, the two gave birth to the eldest daughter Chang Xiaoyu, the second daughter Chen Xiaoxiang, the son Chen Jiakang, and the younger daughter Chang Ruyu.
After growing up, in addition to her son Chen Jiakang's career in the business world, her daughters all devoted themselves to the Yu opera industry.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > eventually became Chang Xiaoyu of Yu opera</h1>
As the eldest daughter, Chang Xiaoyu studied with her mother since childhood. After growing up, Chang Xiaoyu entered the Beijing Opera School, and after graduation, Chang Xiaoyu entered the Henan Yu Opera Troupe and officially became a Yu opera actor.
In 1961, Chang Xiaoyu officially paid homage to his mother, Chang Xiangyu. Chang Xiangyu officially taught classic plays such as "Mulan", "Broken Bridge", "Kao Hong", and "Broken Hongzhou".
In 1962, Chang Xiaoyu visited Cao Yanzhang, a famous martial artist of Yu Opera, and began to learn the "Three Gongs" (Eye Gong, Leg Gong, and Ling Gong).
In the process of learning, her mother Chang Xiangyu did not look at Chang Xiaoyu differently because her apprentice was her daughter Chang Xiaoyu, but instead demanded Chang Xiaoyu to be higher than others.
In a training session, Chang Xiaoyu was 5 minutes late for some reason. Although Chang Xiaoyu had become the main actor of the troupe at that time, he already had a great reputation. However, Chang Xiangyu still gathered all the personnel for this purpose and severely criticized Chang Xiaoyu in front of everyone.
Chang Xiangyu admonished Chang Xiaoyu: "No matter how famous and accomplished you are, you will be punished for doing something wrong."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="9" > Chang Xiaoyu made Yu opera famous internationally</h1>
Due to his mother's strict requirements and the teachings of many famous teachers, Chang Xiaoyu had become one of the famous Dan of Yu opera in the 1960s.
In 1986, Chang Xiaoyu was invited to the United States to teach Yu opera knowledge. During the two years in the United States, Chang Xiaoyu taught Yu opera knowledge at universities in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and other places.
In June 1986, Chang Xiaoyu performed on stage in Chicago, one of the american cultural and arts centers, becoming the first person of "Changpai" to appear on the international stage, and making significant contributions to the "Changpai" of Yu opera going overseas.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > Chen Xiaoxiang, the second daughter who specializes in Yu opera vocal cavity</h1>
Chen Xiaoxiang also studied with his mother Chang Xiangyu from an early age, due to the limitations of talent, Chen Xiaoxiang's conditions in the vocal cavity are better, so after graduating from university, Chen Xiaoxiang studied vocal art with the famous vocal musician Wu Xiuzhi. After completing his studies, Chen Xiaoxiang specialized in the teaching and research of sound cavity, and also published relevant monographs.
After Chang Xiangyu fell ill in 2001, he specifically asked Chen Xiaoxiang to bring out a few students, because the sound cavity is the essence of Yu opera, and if the sound cavity is lost, Yu opera will lose its charm.
Chen Xiaoxiang has not forgotten her mother's commission, and now she is still active on the stage and behind the scenes, doing her best to promote the beautiful singing voice of Yu opera.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > Chang Ruyu, who once evaded learning to play</h1>
When Chang Ruyu was born, the crying was particularly loud, and Chen Charter hugged Chang Ruyu and said to Chang Xiangyu very happily: "This child has such a good voice, he must be a good seedling who sings opera, and your career has been inherited."
Chang Ruyu's talent in terms of appearance, figure, voice and other aspects is good, and it is indeed a rare good seedling, so Chang Xiangyu is also very protective of Chang Ruyu.
Under the influence of the family environment, Chang Ruyu did like Yu Opera when she was a child, which made Chang Xiangyu's expectations of her higher.
Once Chang Ruyu was unfortunately injured while playing in school, and the skin of his hand was broken and bleeding a lot. Chang Xiangyu was very nervous after knowing this, and immediately asked for leave to go to school to take Chang Ruyu to the hospital.
After arriving at the hospital, Chang Xiangyu has always stressed to the doctor that Chang Ruyu's hand should be completely cured, otherwise Chang Ruyu will not be able to sing after that. This sentence made Chang Ruyu very sad, and she thought that her daughter's identity was not as important as Yu Opera.
From then on, Chang Ruyu was very resistant to Yu opera. The youngest daughter suddenly did not learn Yu opera, which made Chang Xiangyu feel both angry and sad. Chang Xiangyu had asked her daughter to learn drama many times, but she was pushed back by Chang Ruyu.
Once at the dinner table, the two once again caused a quarrel over the problem of learning drama, Chang Xiangyu also took up the knife in anger, fortunately, Chang Xiaoyu and Chen Charter blocked, and the quarrel was resolved safely.
At the age of 14, Chang Ruyu signed up for the army and temporarily left his parents. Due to his family background and his own artistic talent, Chang Ruyu soon became the backbone of the army's literature and art, and his casual humming of the Yu opera bridge section was even more admired by his comrades-in-arms.
During his service, the army sent Chang Ruyu and his comrades home many times to study Yu opera. However, in training, Chang Xiangyu often picked chang Ruyu's faults, which made Chang Ruyu feel that he had lost face in front of his comrades-in-arms, so he was even more reluctant to learn Yu opera.
The quarrel between Chang Ruyu and Chang Xiangyu's mother and daughter is actually staged in many families. Chang Ruyu's inability to understand her mother's bitterness is actually a manifestation of adolescent rebellious psychology. The hardships of parents can generally only be understood after the children have become a family.
In order to escape the Yu opera, Chang Ruyu traveled to the United States in 1985. Chang Xiangyu did not say anything about her daughter's going to the United States, and the mother and daughter fell into a decade of silence.
Although there are cross-oceanic telephone greetings, the words are only greetings.
After settling down in the United States and starting a family, Chang Ruyu gave birth to a daughter and started a business in the United States. In the process of taking her daughter, she found that her daughter was just as rebellious as herself.
It was only at this time that Chang Ruyu truly understood her mother's good intentions. Finally after ten years of leaving home, Chang Ruyu picked up the phone and told her family that she was going home to visit her family.
In 1995, after a decade of separation from her hometown and her parents, Chang Ruyu returned home. When he saw that his parents had a few more white hairs on their heads, Chang Ruyu's tears suddenly jumped out. This scene made Chang Xiangyu, who had always been strong, feel a pang of bitterness, and the mother and daughter hugged and cried together for a long time.
After all, after a long time, it is inevitable that people who are close to each other will not be adapted. After returning home, Chang Xiangyu was very polite to Chang Ruyu, and she still sighed from time to time, saying that Xiao Wu (Chang Ruyu's milk name) had the best qualifications, and it was a pity that she did not learn drama.
Her mother's words reminded Chang Ruyu of those unpleasant past events, but for the sake of face, Chang Ruyu did not say anything. A week later, Chang Ruyu returned to the United States after visiting her relatives early.
In 2000, Chen was hospitalized for a sudden illness. After Chen Charter was critically ill, Chang Ruyu did not return to China in time due to too many chores.
Before Chen Charter died of illness, he asked Chang Xiangyu not to dwell on chang Ruyu's learning drama, because the coldness between mother and daughter made him very sad, and Chang Xiangyu cried and agreed to her husband's request.
When Chang Ruyu returned home, she found that her father had passed away, and her mother, who had lost her husband, was much older. Chang Ruyu understands that after her father's death, only Yu Opera can distract her mother.
In 2001, Chang Ruyu resolutely gave up his business and family in the United States, learned drama from his mother, and prepared to take over his mother's Yu opera career.
Chang Ruyu's return to Yu opera made Chang Xiangyu very happy, and under the guidance of Chang Xiangyu, Chang Ruyu quickly mastered classic plays such as "Kao Hong" and "Mulan".
After the death of her mother, Chang Ruyu received a suicide note from her mother, which first expressed Chang Xiangyu's guilt, Chang Xiangyu thought that she was not a qualified mother, so that her daughter was hurt, but her daughter was able to forgive her and continue to learn drama, so that she felt no regrets in this life.
After reading this letter, I often burst into tears. Today, Chang Ruyu and her two sisters are still standing on the stage to perform. She constantly strives to promote her mother's cherished Yu opera through performances and apprenticeships.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" > little granddaughter who parted ways with Chang Xiangyu because of her artistic ideas</h1>
In addition to the daughters, the Chang Xiangyu family also has a young granddaughter, this granddaughter named Chen Bailing, born to the son of her husband Chen Charter and his ex-wife.
Because Chen Bailing has lived with Chang Xiangyu since she was a child, Chang Xiangyu loves her very much. However, what made Chang Xiangyu even more overjoyed was that Chen Bailing was very talented in Yu opera. Therefore, Chen Bailing has been regarded as the inheritor of Yu opera since she was a child, and has been carried by Chang Xiangyu to practice Yu opera.
In addition, Chang Xiangyu gave her the stage name of "Xiao Xiangyu". From the stage name, it can be seen that Chang Xiangyu expects Xiao Xiangyu.
After entering the industry, Xiao Xiangyu showed a talent beyond the average person, even beyond Chang Xiangyu of the same age, which made Chang Xiangyu very happy and thought that he had found a successor to Yu Opera.
After the official performance, Xiao Xiangyu achieved great success and became a celebrity in the Chinese opera industry. Therefore, after being exposed to the outside world, Xiao Xiangyu formed his own views on the development of Yu opera. Xiao Xiangyu believes that if Yu opera is to develop, it must be commercialized.
When she said these words, Chang Xiangyu was worried that commercialization would lead to the decline of Yu opera, so she was opposed to Xiao Xiangyu's ideas.
After that, although the two communicated many times, there was no progress. Fearing that commercialization would make Yu opera sink, Chang Xiangyu had no choice but to ask his lawyer to take back Xiao Xiangyu's stage name.
Although the stage name cannot be taken back at the legal level, as soon as the matter came out, everyone understood that the relationship between Chang Xiangyu and Xiao Xiangyu could no longer be recovered.
Until his death, Chang Xiangyu did not forgive Xiao Xiangyu.
However, both of them are deeply in love with Yu opera, and their starting point is to develop Yu opera, in fact, there is no right or wrong. In fact, no matter in which era, opera must be improved according to social development, and any old-fashioned things will be eliminated by the times.