Chang Xiangyu and "Little Xiangyu"
In 2004, Yu opera artist Chang Xiangyu passed away. A year later, Phoenix Satellite TV announced to the public the will made by Chang Xiangyu before his death, which mentioned that Chang Xiangyu would take back Chen Bailing's right to use Xiao Xiangyu's stage name.
Why did the "grandmother" in Xiao Xiangyu's mouth make such a decision before she died? To this day, some people say that Xiao Xiangyu is self-inflicted, and some people comment on his self-inflicted wounds, what is the real situation of the matter?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > old artists who regret life</h1>
When the name Chang Xiangyu is mentioned, the first impression in everyone's mind is mostly "an old artist with both virtue and art". Among China's brilliant theatrical culture, Chang Xiangyu is undoubtedly the most dazzling presence.
Chang Xiangyu
She has absorbed the strengths of all, integrated many singing voices and vocal schools, and borrowed from Hebei Zizi, Kunqu opera and other techniques to create a new Yu opera culture.
Chang Xiangyu on the stage sang beautifully, and his every move was quite elegant and radiant. And Chang Xiangyu in life is also at the height of everyone's admiration.
Chang Xiangyu lived a simple life, living in a small bungalow and never adding new furniture. Her daily attire was always old, somewhat outdated, but always clean.
"Singing opera first to be a person", this is a sentence that Chang Xiangyu hangs on her lips, and she has also practiced this belief with her own life.
In 1951, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army resisted us and aided Korea. In just half a year, Chang Xiangyu performed nearly 180 charity performances, sold his car and ring, and finally raised 1.52 billion old coins and donated a MiG-15 fighter jet to the volunteer army.
Yu opera, performance, these are the two things that run through Chang Xiangyu's life, as long as it can be on the stage, it is the greatest comfort for Chang Xiangyu.
In 2003, Chang Xiangyu was suffering from cancer and had limited mobility, but dragged his sick body and participated in a performance to comfort the workers. The stage curtain opened, and Chang Xiangyu slowly opened his voice, just like the spirit of the year.
No one expected that she was 80 years old at this time and had only removed her own infusion tube before she came to power.
A song "Willow River Bay" is finished, and the afterglow is around the beam, and it has not been extinguished for three days. Unfortunately, such a natural sound has become Chang Xiangyu's masterpiece. Soon after, Chang Xiangyu's illness worsened, and he lay in bed, no longer able to appear on the stage he loved.
Chang Xiangyu's life, standing in the center of the stage, life is rich and happy, and has become a winner in life. Few people know that Chang Xiangyu's lifelong regrets have never been made up. There is no successor to the Yu opera lineage, which is the pain of Chang Xiangyu's life.
Prior to this, the appearance of Xiao Xiangyu, a newcomer to Yu opera, once brought many surprises to Chang Xiangyu. Unfortunately, the two eventually parted ways.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="53" > the legend of "Xiao Xiangyu"</h1>
Xiao Xiangyu, formerly known as Chen Bailing, was born in Henan, where the atmosphere of Yu opera is strong. Chen Bailing's mother is the famous artist Pan Yulan, and under the words and deeds of her mother, Chen Bailing showed amazing talent at a young age.
When she was 6 years old, Chen Bailing followed her parents to live in the family home of the Yu Opera Troupe. Yu opera actors open their voices in the morning, and every movement and look on the stage needs to undergo rigorous training.
The young Chen Bailing was full of curiosity about Yu opera, so she carefully observed the every move of the people around her, and in the long run, Chen Bailing actually remembered the essence of Yu opera in her heart.
Chen Bailing later recalled her artistic experience in her youth, laughing: "I fell in love with this line of work."
My parents are also artistic actors, and they know the hardships involved. Because of this, Chen Bailing's parents and grandmother have always rejected her from studying Yu opera.
As Chen Bailing said: "She hopes that I can go to school well, learn a skill, and become a doctor in the future." Despite her family's opposition, Chen Bailing was firm in her convictions. At the age of 11, Chen Bailing entered the Zhengzhou Opera School with excellent results.
Her parents understood Chen Bailing's personality of not hitting the south wall and not turning back, and could only reluctantly agree to her stepping into the Yu opera industry. It turns out that Chen Bailing did not disappoint her family. Her basic skills and hard training soon stood out among her peers.
In 1982, 17-year-old Chen Bailing had a good performance in "Mulan" and has since entered the audience's field of vision.
Later, Chen Bailing participated in more and more plays, becoming a well-known Yu opera actor, almost popular throughout the north and south of the river. It was also from that time that Yu opera artist Chang Xiangyu discovered Chen Bailing, who was extremely talented.
Chang Xiangyu has always hoped that his traditional representative repertoire can be inherited, and it is obvious that Chen Bailing, who has shown her brilliance, has undoubtedly become the most suitable candidate.
Later, Chang Xiangyu decided to take Chen Bailing as an apprentice and named her Xiao Xiangyu. Chang Xiangyu and Xiao Xiangyu, the names of the two masters and apprentices are only one word apart, which shows that "Xiao Xiangyu" inherits all the hopes of Chang Xiangyu.
In fact, the two have another layer of origin, Chen Bailing's father, Chen Jinbang, was born to Chang Xiangyu's husband Chen Charter and his ex-wife, and then followed Chen Charter and Chang Xiangyu to live. In other words, Xiao Xiangyu is Chang Xiangyu's granddaughter, but the two are not related by blood.
Xiao Xiangyu and Chang Xiangyu are not so much a master-apprentice relationship as an inseparable family affection.
Chang Xiangyu loves Xiao Xiangyu very much and treats her as her own granddaughter, and Xiao Xiangyu has always affectionately called Chang Xiangyu "Grandma".
Perhaps because the identity of Chang Xiangyu's granddaughter has brought Xiao Xiangyu self-confidence, in the relationship with others, Xiao Xiangyu can't help but be a little squeamish.
Chang Xiangyu opened an apprenticeship class with a large number of members, and according to the regulations, each apprentice should take turns doing housework. However, when Xiao Xiangyu took over the task, she played Laipi and declared that she was the youngest and should not do such a heavy job.
It seems that the little Xiangyu who is obedient to Chang Xiangyu is obedient, but he can't help but have the experience of rebelling against his grandmother. When Xiao Xiangyu followed her grandmother to learn the art, she often seized the opportunity to be lazy and clever, and the master responsible for teaching Xiao Xiangyu was even more crying and laughing.
The young and famous Xiao Xiangyu lacked characterization, and was even very stubborn, and everyone shook their heads when they saw it, but Chang Xiangyu never gave up on her.
Chang Xiangyu not only taught Xiao Xiangyu in the techniques of Yu opera, but also never retained it when teaching Xiao Xiangyu's philosophy of life. "Be a person before singing", Chang Xiangyu practiced it all his life, and also profoundly influenced Xiao Xiangyu.
In 1995, Xiao Xiangyu took out hundreds of thousands of performance fees accumulated over the years and built China's first Hope Art School. The road to public welfare is far more difficult than Xiao Xiangyu imagined, and she has also played the retreat drum several times. However, as soon as she thought of her grandmother's teachings, Xiao Xiangyu was once again full of fighting spirit.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="58" > turning point in the emotional relationship</h1>
Chang Xiangyu is Xiao Xiangyu's art master and her life mentor. In memory, Xiao Xiangyu is always very dependent on her grandmother, but with the growth of Xiao Xiangyu and the aging of Chang Xiangyu, the feelings between the two people have quietly changed.
The differences between Xiao Xiangyu and Chang Xiangyu gradually increased, the most obvious of which was the different views of the two people on the inheritance of Yu opera. Chang Xiangyu always believes that the classic and traditional Yu opera is worth continuing to pass on, and because of this, she re-named Xiao Xiangyu.
The original Chang Xiangyu simply wanted Xiao Xiangyu to inherit the mantle of "Kao Hong", "The Legend of the White Snake" and "Mulan", so that the three classic Yu opera repertoire would be passed on forever.
Compared with the old-fashioned Ofsho yu, Xiao Xiangyu is more inclined to be new. She has repeatedly argued with Chang Xiangyu because of the inheritance of Yu opera, "Grandma, now that the times have changed, Yu opera has no future for development, and I can no longer engage in your set." Xiao Xiangyu said.
In order to pursue innovation, Xiao Xiangyu integrated martial arts, dance and other forms in the original Yu opera tradition, which is a betrayal for Chang Xiangyu, who regards traditional Yu opera as life.
Chang Xiangyu did not want the apprentices he had personally cultivated to go farther and farther on the road of "deviance", and talked to Xiao Xiangyu several times, but they did not end up. At the same time, as a Yu opera actor, Xiao Xiangyu also tried to cross the border.
In 1988, Xiao Xiangyu took the stage of the Spring Festival Gala and partnered with Chen Peisi to perform "Dog Baby and Black Girl". Xiao Xiangyu won the love of everyone with her beautiful appearance, and became famous for a while.
Since then, Xiao Xiangyu has been invited to the Spring Festival Gala every year. In this way, she participated in the Spring Festival Gala for 11 consecutive years and was jokingly called "nail household".
Seeing Xiao Xiangyu walk farther and farther on the road of Yu Opera, Chang Xiangyu was heartbroken. Busy across borders and busy life, Xiao Xiangyu has given little time to the stage of Yu opera.
Xiao Xiangyu's body has more and more aura, and the public has forgotten her original and dazzling light. In 1997, after careful consideration, Chang Xiangyu talked to Xiao Xiangyu, and the result remained unchanged. In the end, Grandma Chang Xiangyu still "tore her face" with Xiao Xiangyu in public.
In mid-May 2004, Chang Xiangyu commissioned his lawyer to issue a statement in which he said: "To this day, Xiao Xiangyu is in the opposite direction of my original wishes, and since this is the case, Xiao Xiangyu's stage name is no longer worthy of the name." Therefore, from today onwards, I will take back the inheritance and use of the name Xiao Xiangyu.
Chen Bailing, who has been a small xiangyu for decades, accepted a stage name at that time, and now it has been taken away. When she decided to take back Xiao Xiangyu's stage name, Chang Xiangyu's heart was also full of entanglements, and she thought about it repeatedly, but finally made up her mind.
The lawyer revealed that when Chang Xiangyu signed the final statement, the movement of holding the pen was cautious and heavy. The ancestral love that has been maintained for decades is ultimately unable to resist reality.
On June 1, 2004, Chang Xiangyu suffered from stomach cancer and unfortunately passed away due to ineffective rescue. Hearing this news, Xiao Xiangyu was almost in pain. At that time, she was undergoing security checks at the Beijing airport, and then hurried to Henan to see Chang Xiangyu for the last time.
When she was a teenager, Xiao Xiangyu often accompanied her grandmother, and because of this, she knew everything about Xiao Xiangyu.
Xiao Xiangyu revealed to reporters that her grandmother suffered from stomach cancer at the age of 40, but despite this, Chang Xiangyu still actively cooperated with doctors in treatment and maintained a positive and optimistic attitude. Mentioning this matter, Xiao Xiangyu's words were full of heartache.
As a granddaughter, as an apprentice, Xiao Xiangyu's admiration and respect for Chang Xiangyu does not seem to have changed.
"Grandma began to act, teach and educate people selflessly, and worked until retirement, and her artistic achievements and artistic virtues have always been loved by the people of the whole country." This is Xiao Xiangyu's sincere evaluation of her grandmother.
In June 2004, Xiao Xiangyu appeared at Chang Xiangyu's memorial service, and when the reporter wanted to ask other questions, he found that she had already left in a low profile.
In 2005, Chang Xiangyu's lawyer statement was displayed in public for the first time. A full year has passed since the frenzy of public opinion that year, and when the reporter mentioned the name xiaoxiangyu again, Chen Bailing still failed to fully adapt to the transformation of her identity.
"We also heard that Old Man Chang Xiangyu didn't seem to be satisfied with what you did later, so we have to take back your name." The reporter asked.
To this day, Chen Bailing still does not regret her decision to insist on innovation. Chen Bailing always firmly believes that the times are changing, art also needs to change, and the traditional "Mulan" and "The Legend of the White Snake" can only be abandoned by the times and the market.
Some people believe that Chen Bailing's right to use Xiao Xiangyu's name was taken back by herself, and some people criticized her for self-inflicted. However, in the dispute between Chen Bailing and Chang Xiangyu, it was difficult to sort out right and wrong.
Chen Bailing and Chang Xiangyu originally stood on different positions. Chen Bailing is a newcomer to Yu opera, eager for innovation and likes to chase the trend of the times, while Chang Xiangyu is obsessed with the inheritance of art and likes the unchanging classics and traditions.
Xiao Xiangyu wants to make Yu opera more modern, worried that it will disappear from the stage; while Chang Xiangyu represents tradition and wants the perfect inheritance of traditional culture. Both men are right, just in different positions.
To put it bluntly, the differences between the two grandchildren caused by the inheritance of Yu opera are actually a game between traditional culture and modern art.
The two sides have their own opinions and cannot persuade each other, which creates an irreconcilable contradiction.
Everyone is an independent individual, and there is no reason why they should live in the shadow of others. The relationship between Chen Bailing and Chang Xiangyu is intricate, and is it possible to judge in a few words?
As for whether Chen Bailing, who has attracted much public attention, can continue to use the stage name XiaoXiangyu, the lawyer also gave a professional answer: "As a parent, although you have the right to withdraw your name, you need relevant proof to exercise legal effect." ”
In this way, Chang Xiangyu's right to withdraw his stage name can only be regarded as an expression of his own emotions. As for the legal effect, it is difficult to obtain.
One name, two generations of artists, each has chosen a different path, and what the future holds depends on Chen Bailing's own choices.