It is proposed to establish a Sichuan Opera Art Promotion Association to protect the traditional culture of Sichuan opera
——Visiting Shen Tiemei, deputy to the National People's Congress and president of chongqing Sichuan Theater
Shen Tiemei
"To accelerate the construction of talents in Sichuan opera art and promote the development of the entire genre of opera, Sichuan and Chongqing should unite to 'hold the group' forward, and inherit and promote Sichuan opera art through coordinated protection and other means." Shen Tiemei, a deputy to the National People's Congress and a leading figure in the Sichuan opera industry, who has starred in many Sichuan opera classics such as "Jinzi", "Li Yaxian", and "Jiang Jie", and who has been committed to promoting the development of Sichuan opera for many years, and the president of the Chongqing Sichuan Theater, put forward the topic she is most concerned about at this year's two sessions in an interview with this reporter, that is, in the face of the squeeze on the living space of Sichuan opera, the reduction of the audience, the shrinking of the performance market, and the sharp reduction of the inheritance and development position, how to protect and support the development of Sichuan opera from the policy level. Her "Proposal on the Establishment of the Sichuan Opera Art Promotion Association or the Sichuan Opera Development Foundation", with the "Outline of the Planning plan for the construction of the Twin Cities Economic Circle in the Chengdu-Chongqing Region" deliberated and adopted by the Politburo of the Central Committee in 2020, calls on the two places to jointly protect the "roots" and "soil" of Sichuan opera, in her view, "the Sichuan-Chongqing culture that gave birth to the art of Sichuan opera has the same roots", if a special art promotion association can be established and a development fund can be set up to strengthen the inheritance, research, publicity and promotion of Sichuan opera, It also has important reference significance for the inheritance and protection of other excellent traditional cultures.
Reporter: As one of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage in china, what is the practical basis for the proposal you proposed to protect Sichuan opera this year?
Shen Tiemei: Last year was the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Chongqing Sichuan Theater. As a "pearl" in the treasure house of traditional art in the mainland, Sichuan opera has a history of 300 years, which is the cultural accumulation of the history of Bashu and the life memory of bayu's children. But today, with the rapid development of economy and society and the impact of foreign cultures and other factors, the development of Sichuan opera is also facing great challenges. The 1950s and 1960s were a heyday in the development of Sichuan opera, and there were previously hundreds of Sichuan theater troupes in the Chengdu-Chongqing area, but now there are very few theater troupes that can truly achieve complete performances. Therefore, the protection of Sichuan opera cannot be delayed. Only by preserving the "roots" of art can the life of art continue. As a common local drama species in Sichuan and Chongqing, Sichuan opera is the cultural root of the people of the two places, and it is also the common spiritual home and emotional bond of the people of the two places. In 2020, the "Outline of the Planning for the Construction of the Twin Cities Economic Circle in the Chengdu-Chongqing Region" was issued, requiring the two places to improve the cooperation mechanism and jointly create a high-level model of regional cooperation, which also opened up a new space for the integrated development of Sichuan opera art. Intangible cultural heritage is an "invisible" wealth for the country, for the development of Sichuan opera, we should all unite together, through regional cooperation, jointly rescue all aspects of Sichuan opera art, and protect and inherit the entire aesthetic system of Sichuan opera. Through the establishment of a special promotion association or fund, more in-depth theoretical research and summary of Sichuan opera art classics is carried out, and the forces of all parties are gathered to jointly protect the "DNA" of the drama genre, forming a virtuous circle of promoting the development of the drama genre.
Reporter: As a traditional art category with strong regionality, how can Sichuan opera effectively promote contemporary protection?
Shen Tiemei: Sichuan opera is a comprehensive, inclusive and highly literary traditional art category, and is a unique cultural window and cultural business card of Sichuan and Chongqing. As a representative of China's excellent traditional culture, Sichuan opera is also full of Chinese way of life and values. In 2012, we performed the new opera "Fengyi Pavilion" at the Lincoln Center for the Arts in New York, but the singing voice used the original and unchanged "Laochuan Opera", I did not expect that the response after the performance was very strong, which made me feel more deeply that Chinese opera is a very great art, which can not only meet the cultural needs of Chinese, but also cross language barriers, achieve spiritual dialogue and communication with audiences in different countries, tell the Chinese story with Chinese Chinese words, and show the world a credible, cute and respectable image of China. In the future, Sichuan opera should be better passed down and going out, and it is a good promotion to increase the protection at the policy level. If a drama lacks attention, slowly no one will learn it, and the drama will not develop. Through legislative protection, seeking support from local policies and at all levels, it is believed that more new forces will enter this field. The Chongqing Municipal People's Congress attaches great importance to this, and before the two sessions of the National People's Congress, a special research group was set up to conduct in-depth research and understanding of the situation in the competent departments of cultural tourism and literary and art academies, fully grasp the current situation and problems faced by the inheritance and protection of Sichuan opera, and contacted the Sichuan People's Congress and launched the relevant procedures for coordinating legislation to protect Sichuan opera. I have participated in some of these work, and I feel the importance of legislation to protect local dramas: one can solve the survival crisis of dramas, the second can maintain the roots of traditional Chinese culture, the third can enhance the international influence of traditional Chinese culture, and the fourth can promote the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture.
Reporter: What unique role can Sichuan opera play in setting up its own art promotion association or development fund?
Shen Tiemei: The establishment of its own fund or promotion association of Sichuan opera can not only achieve a strong supplement to the national art fund in the creation of repertoire and the cultivation of performance talents, but also realize the protection and activation of the entire "production chain" of Sichuan opera. For example, the costumes, head hats, props production, face masks, makeup methods, etc. of our Sichuan opera are different from other dramas, and have their own unique features. In the past, Chinese opera had its own "industrial chain", but today, these skills and "industries" are facing the dilemma of possible loss and disappearance. To solve these problems, more support is needed, such as the establishment of a special art promotion association can help the theater troupe to develop the right direction and protect the unique genes of Sichuan opera art, and the establishment of funds can transport "grain and grass" to activate the "soil" for the inheritance and protection of Sichuan opera, especially in supporting folk theater troupes, etc. Can also do a lot of work, and this is also an important way to help Sichuan opera grounded and cultivate audiences. Therefore, I propose that the Chengdu-Chongqing region inject funds to establish the Chengdu-Chongqing Sichuan Opera Art Promotion Association or the Sichuan Opera Development Fund in Chongqing, encourage and guide citizens, legal persons and unincorporated organizations to establish Sichuan opera commercial performance groups in accordance with the law, build Sichuan opera art exhibition and study venues, promote Sichuan opera art performance display, inheritance and popularization and other activities; support literary and art groups or individuals to strengthen Sichuan opera artistic creation, support original scripts, original repertoire, rearrange classic excellent repertoire, and increase support for theoretical research It can also provide a "platform" for the cultivation of outstanding talents in Sichuan opera, introduce various talent training plans and systems, hold important competitions, support old artists to play a role in helping and leading, and cultivate new literary and artistic groups; it can also provide a "link" for the creation and transformation of traditional culture, support literary and art groups or institutions to excavate the rich connotation of Bashu culture, realize the integration of Sichuan opera culture with excellent revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture, and create more excellent Sichuan opera works that embody the spirit of the times, lead the trend of the times, and carry forward the main theme of the times.
Reporter: The development of drama genres fundamentally needs the support of classic repertoire, what other experiences can you share about this?
Shen Tiemei: The production of classics first relies on the charm of the drama. The reason why Sichuan opera can produce such fine masterpieces as "Sister Jiang", "Li Yaxian" and "Jinzi" is because they stand on the soil of Sichuan opera and play the unique charm, aesthetics and unique personality of the drama. "Sister Jiang" has been performed hundreds of times since 2018, and some people say that Shen Tiemei playing Sister Jiang is also like playing herself, as if she has a soul dialogue with Sister Jiang. This may be because I am a native of Chongqing, and Chongqing is also the place where Sister Jiang carried out revolutionary work and sacrifice before she died, and I used my understanding of Sichuan opera to express the characters, trying to show the hero's growth and tempering of the life course. There is also "Li Yaxian", we excavate its contemporary value in the traditional repertoire, so that the characters glow with new charm, and the large-scale narrative singing makes the audience feel the excitement of Sichuan opera, just like the hot pot in Chongqing, which is spicy and hot, constantly arousing the audience's "appetite", which is inseparable from the artistic charm and cultural characteristics of the drama. There is also "Jinzi" adapted from Cao Yu's "Wilderness", and it is precisely because of the success of "Jinzi" that there are later "Li Yaxian" and "Sister Jiang", which allow many audiences to enter the theater, drive the understanding of the art of Sichuan opera, and have the possibility of today's Sichuan opera going out step by step and establishing a virtuous circle. Therefore, whether it is a call for local coordination to protect Sichuan opera or the establishment of relevant institutions today, in the final analysis, it is also in order to better realize the effective protection of the living soil and artistic foundation of the opera species, so that countless latecomers can continue to go on and promote the development of the Sichuan opera cause and the Chinese opera cause for a longer time.
(Interview and collation by reporter Lu Feifei of this newspaper)
Content source: Literature and Art Daily, March 7, 2022, 4th edition
WeChat Editor: Lv Yimeng
Second instance: Ren Jingjing
Third trial: Xu Jian
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