Chang Xiangyu
On June 1, 1951, the General Association of Chinese People's War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea issued the "Call on Implementing patriotic conventions, donating aircraft cannons, and giving preferential treatment to the families of martyrs." Suddenly, there was a wave of weapons donations across the country.
At that time, the United States suffered a lot of losses from the Chinese Volunteer Army with sophisticated weapons and equipment.
Chang Xiangyu, who had long been thinking about doing something for the volunteer soldiers, couldn't sit still.
She is not a soldier and cannot go into battle to kill the enemy, but she can express her support for the war against the United States and Aid Korea in another way. That is to buy a fighter jet and donate it to the volunteer soldiers.
At that time, it cost about 1.5 billion yuan (old yuan) to buy a fighter jet.
Hearing about this, the outside world was full of doubts.
1.5 billion, for an ordinary person, that is an astronomical number, how can it be done?
But Chang Xiangyu did not believe in this evil.
She sold the trucks in the troupe and her real estate jewelry, and first donated 40 million yuan (old chinese yuan). The remaining funds were used as funds for the company's roving charity performances.
After sending her three children to the Xi'an Nursery School, she took 59 members of the Xiangyu Opera Club on a six-month charity tour.
From August 1951 to February 1952, the Xiangyu Opera Society toured 178 charity performances in 6 provinces including Henan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Jiangxi, raising a total of 1.52 billion yuan.
With her own practical actions, she turned this impossible into a fact.
Chang Xiangyu and Xiangyu Drama Society
In 1952, a Soviet-made MiG-15 fighter flew over the Korean battlefield and fought alongside volunteer soldiers, and it was named "Xiangyu Drama Society".
How did Chang Xiangyu achieve such a feat? Everything had to start with Chang Xiangyu's name.
On September 15, 1923, Chang Xiangyu was born in a cave in Nanhedu Village, Gong County (present-day Gongyi City), Henan Province. At that time, her name was Zhang Miaoling.
The Zhang family's family was very difficult, and the crops grown in half an acre of thin land were often left after paying the tenant rent. In order to support his family, his father Zhang Maotang, who could sing a few Yuxi tunes, always sang in shifts when he was idle in the farm.
Income from cameos is limited. When there was no ration, Zhang Miaoling and her mother could only rely on food to survive.
The days of asking for food are very hard, hunger and fullness are not said, and people will always be blindsided. But Zhang Miaoling can also find her own fun.
Country theatre stage
In 1928, at the age of 5, she watched a play "Throwing Big Braids" on the earthen terrace of a neighboring village.
She couldn't understand the content of this play, but she was deeply impressed by her singing voice and flowing body.
When Zhang Miaoling was 7 years old, she added a younger brother to her family. This already poor family is even worse. In desperation, Zhang Maotang had to take Zhang Miaoling with him.
The drama class has been going south and north all year round, which is very difficult. But for Zhang Miaoling, who likes to watch drama, as long as there is a drama to watch, what kind of hardship is not a problem.
Since then, she has followed her father in various small drama classes.
The Case of The Beauty of The United States
At the age of 9 in 1932, she was given a chance to take the stage.
At that time, Zhang Miaoling and her father were performing "The Case of Beauty" in Mixian County. Unfortunately, when he was about to take the stage, the doll who played YingGe was upset.
Saving the scene is like putting out a fire, and Zhang Miaoling, who knows nothing, was pushed onto the stage.
Fortunately, this role is a living prop, as long as you do a few simple actions with the requirements of the play. Therefore, Zhang Miaoling completed the task quite well.
This experience allowed her to appreciate the charm of the stage, and unconsciously planted a seed of opera in her heart.
Old society child bridesmaids
In the same year, the eldest aunt came to the door to say goodbye, planning to give Zhang Miaoling to a family with a relatively well-off family to become a child bride.
Originally, it was nothing.
At that time, most of the poor families would do this, to find a way out for their daughters, and to exchange some money for their own family.
Unfortunately, those girls who became child brides did not have a good ending.
The husband's family spent money, so naturally they would not be offered up like Miss Qianjin. As a result, all kinds of heavy agricultural work were suppressed, and they were constantly beaten and abused.
Zhang Miaoling's four aunts are all child brides. They worked hard as cattle and horses, but two of them still did not survive until they reached adulthood.
Therefore, Zhang Maotang did not want to push his daughter into the fire pit. However, the situation at home is so bad that if you leave your daughter behind, you may not be able to support her.
The Story of Chang Xiangyu
Just when her father hesitated and could not make a decision, Zhang Miaoling solved the problem herself.
She would rather starve to death than be a child bride.
This statement made my father and aunt angry and funny.
The eldest aunt couldn't help but show up and say that she wanted Zhang Miaoling to change her mind.
But Zhang Miaoling was good, and directly went back without saying anything, and threatened to learn to sing and support herself.
In the eyes of the people at that time, singing was a very lowly and humiliating industry. How many dramas have been insulted and abused for no reason, and some of them have died and even cannot enter the ancestral graves.
When women learn to play, that is even more taboo. Its influence is as bad as the women in the Qinglou at home.
Therefore, Zhang Miaoling's words directly angered the aunt, and she scolded Zhang Maotang for a while and then left in anger.
And Zhang Maotang was also touched by this. In fact, he also thought about this path. In these years of chaos, it is always good to have a craft. However, once a girl embarks on this road, all that awaits her is thorns.
After careful consideration, Zhang Maotang called his daughter to his eyes.
In this way, 9-year-old Zhang Miaoling made the first important choice in her life.
"The drama is a bitter worm, and it is impossible not to fight!"
Opera actors practicing
From the first day of learning drama, Zhang Miaoling did not know how many times she had been beaten.
Hands misplaced to beat, kicks and lazy to beat, lines are not clear or beaten... After a beating, the arms, legs, and mouth did not seem to be their own.
But she never complained, just because both father and daughter knew that once they chose this path, they could only grit their teeth and insist, and they could only boil themselves into horns, because they had no way back at all.
In addition to personally practicing the basic skills of his daughter, Zhang Maotang also specially led Zhang Miaoling to visit the teacher. Zhai Yanshen, Zhou Haishui, Wang Jinzhi, etc. have all been Zhang Miaoling's masters.
From them, Zhang Miaoling eagerly learned new skills and gradually mastered the skills of different drama genres and different genres. This also laid the foundation for her to create her own "Changpai" singing voice in the future.
As Zhang Miaoling gradually emerged on the stage, the relatives of the Zhang family finally knew about Zhang Maotang's teaching her daughter to learn drama.
They scolded Zhang Miaoling for violating customs and insulting the Zhang family's lintel, and the patriarch even threatened to expel Zhang Miaoling from the Zhang family tree.
Since he had already torn his face, Zhang Maotang no longer cared about it, and after he and his friend Chang Huiqing had summed up, he decided to change his name to Chang as his surname.
Zhang Maotang specially selected the name of Xiang Yu in "Overlord Farewell". Therefore, Chang Xiangyu replaced Zhang Miaoling on the stage.
In 1935, Chang Xiangyu entered the tai yi class, which was very famous at that time. In just two months, she has sung all the way from the mat play to the central axis with her solid skills and acting skills of "unblocked in literature and martial arts, and excellent in life and dan", and has become one of the main actors of the Taiyi class.
This year, Chang Xiangyu was only 12 years old.
Since then, with her own strength and diligence, she has gone farther and farther on the road of opera.
After becoming more and more famous, Chang Xiangyu tried to combine the characteristics and unique skills of different drama genres and different genres.
The audience was very enthusiastic about her reforms and introductions. However, in a few years, Chang Xiangyu became a popular "Empress of Yu Opera" in the Kaifeng area.
In 1941, Chang Xiangyu, who had just recovered from a serious illness, and Tang Lanxiang co-starred in "Horse Selling Scheme" in Luoyang. As soon as the news came out, the people of the city rushed to see the empress of Yu Opera, and as a result, the theater collapsed due to excessive numbers.
It was in this situation that Chang Xiangyu met his own love, Chen Charter.
Chang Xiangyu and Chen Charter
It is reasonable to say that Chen Charter, who is already 27 years old and has a wife and children, should not have any intersection with Chang Xiangyu, who was not yet 20 years old at the time.
At the seminar, Chen Charter talked about the lyrics of the opera. This made Chang Xiangyu start to pay attention to this talented young man.
He is warm and sincere, and has unique insights into many phenomena and problems in opera. Chang Xiangyu was quickly attracted to him.
But what bothered Chang Xiangyu was that she could obviously feel that Chen Charter also had a different kind of friendship for her, but Chen Charter seemed to have some scruples, and he always left himself.
Every time it felt like he was about to get closer, he would deliberately distance himself. But when you think there is no hope, he will suddenly appear again, as if to remind you of her existence.
This feeling of not being up and down made Chang Xiangyu very depressed. Keep going, she doesn't see a glimmer of hope. But at this point, she was a little reluctant to let go.
Just when she was in a dilemma and didn't know how to be good, something big happened.
It was precisely this big event that almost cost Chang Xiangyu's life that made the relationship between her and Chen Charter turn around.
At that time, Chang Xiangyu was already quite famous in Baoji, and many people invited her to sing at home.
At that time, just in time for the leader of the Qinghong Gang, Li Fancun, to marry a little wife, he sent someone to invite Chang Xiangyu to sing.
On weekdays, the people of the Qinghong Gang used to bully the market and the fish and meat towns. Chang Xiangyu did not want to deal with such a person, so he pretended to be ill and wanted to push away from the past.
If it was the average person, it would probably feel a little pity, and then things would pass like this. But Li Yucun was obviously not such a person.
In his cognition, whoever he calls is to give face to whom, and the other party should be happy to surrender and be on call. Therefore, he didn't care at all whether Chang Xiangyu was sick or not, he only felt that Chang Xiangyu was deliberately refuting his face. So, he sent out his men to "please".
This time it worked. Because Chang Xiangyu was "invited" by the muzzle of the black hole hole.
Chang Xiangyu is also not ambiguous, people do happy events, she directly came to a "Mandarin Duck Dream".
"The Dream of the Mandarin Duck" tells a loyal and unswerving love story: Jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi were originally a loving couple, but they were separated for some reason, and the latter two felt hopeless and both martyred.
Obviously, it is really not suitable to sing such a song on the day of people's big day.
Enraged, Li Yucun ordered his men to throw dishes at the stage. He also pulled out his pistol and dangled it in front of Chang Xiangyu's eyes.
What he didn't expect was that Chang Xiangyu not only threw the dishes back, but even jumped on the table and scolded, and finally, she took off the gold ring on her finger and swallowed it.
The crowd hurriedly slashed Chang Xiangyu's throat to induce vomiting. But it took half a day's effort, and only succeeded in spitting out a gold ring. In desperation, everyone sent Chang Xiangyu to the hospital.
After some busyness, the gold ring still could not be spit out. The doctor suggested that Chang Xiangyu eat more leeks and drink castor oil so that the golden ring could be successfully discharged.
But Chang Xiangyu, who has a strong personality, can bear such humiliation, and then think about all the injustices she has encountered since her debut, she would rather die than cooperate with the hospital for treatment.
Just when everyone was helpless, Chen Charter suddenly appeared in front of Chang Xiangyu.
He was sweating profusely and anxious, and he had long lost his usual calmness.
It was only at this moment that Chen Charter finally revealed his heart.
It turned out that Chen Charter had a family. In the early years, he obeyed the orders of his parents to marry Mrs. Ichigo, and although the two had no affection, they also had a son.
Therefore, he consciously felt that he was not worthy of Chang Xiangyu, and he would force his emotions to withdraw.
But this time, the incident frightened Chen Charter. When he first heard the news, one of his hearts fell straight down. On the way back and forth, he just kept praying that the heavens would bless Chang Xiangyu and be fine.
At this moment, Chen Charter clearly realized that he didn't know when to start, he couldn't do without Chang Xiangyu.
Now that the right to choose has once again returned to Chang Xiangyu's hands, she has thought about it for a long time and finally given her own bottom line: not to be a little wife, not to find an official, and to sing after marriage.
Chen Charter solemnly promised that after Chang Xiangyu was discharged from the hospital, he immediately left to return to his hometown to go through divorce procedures with his wife.
Chang Xiangyu is performing
However, Chang Xiangyu had not yet waited for his sweetheart, but the drama team was going to perform in Hanzhong.
It turned out that Zhang Maotang's two elders also gradually became aware of the affection between their daughter and Chen Charter. After deliberating, the two old men decided to drag the drama team to Hankou to perform, and then go west to Lanzhou. In this way, the two people will not have the opportunity to meet again.
Unfortunately, the old couple obviously underestimated their daughter's feelings for Chen Charter.
Not long after the drama class departed, Chang Xiangyu disappeared. That's right, she "eloped" alone.
In June 1944, two people who loved each other deeply finally came together.
Since then, Chen Charter has accompanied Chang Xiangyu, who has taken his wife as the center and his wife's career as his career, and has wholeheartedly tailored a number of excellent Yu opera plays for his wife.
When Chang Xiangyu decided to donate an airplane after the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he was the first to stand up and support his wife's decision.
In order to improve the quality of the tour, the two people created a new drama "Mulan".
In 1953, Chang Xiangyu personally went to the front line of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea to comfort the soldiers who fought in blood.
After that, Chang Xiangyu led the troupe to implement the "three-three-three system" performance, that is, three months in the countryside, three months in the mines, and three months in the army. She always said: "The drama is performed for the poor and the praise of new China." ”
Even Chairman Mao, when he saw her play, would clasp her hand and say, "You are so great, I should learn from you." ”
After leaving retirement, Chang Xiangyu has maintained the habit he has developed over the years, practicing every day and wearing patched clothes.
On June 1, 2004, Chang Xiangyu completed his legendary life.
Chang Xiangyu memorial service
She and Chen Charter have three daughters and one son, and in addition to their sons entering the business world, all three daughters have inherited their mother's career.
The eldest daughter, Chang Xiaoyu, has been singing with her mother on stage since childhood. In 1986, he appeared on the stage of Chicago, USA, and became the first person of Yu Opera Changpai to step onto the international stage. Now that she has passed the age of ancient rarity, she is still fascinated by Yu opera and sends talents for the development of mainland opera.
The second daughter, Chen Xiaoxiang, has been committed to the research and development of Changpai singing voice and related teaching work. In 2013, she was named by the Department of Culture of Henan Province as the representative inheritor of the provincial intangible cultural heritage project (Yu Opera).
Chang Ruyu was once the most favored by her parents, but she herself fell out with her mother for various reasons, and in 1985, Chang Ruyu went to the United States and did not return until 10 years later.
In 2002, she left her business and family in the United States like a mother to learn art. Now, she is also active on stage like her two sisters.
In addition to her daughters, Chang Xiangyu has a young granddaughter named Chen Bailing, who was born to the son of Chen Charter and his ex-wife. Because she has a talent for Yu opera, Chang Xiangyu named her "Xiao Xiangyu" and personally guided her.
Little Fragrant Jade
After entering the industry, "Xiao Xiangyu" did not disappoint, and her talent in Yu opera even exceeded that of Chang Xiangyu in the same period.
But over time, the grandchildren had serious disagreements over the development of the statement. In 2005, Chang Xiangyu's family and lawyer announced her last wish: to reclaim the stage name of her stepdaughter Chen Bailing, "Xiao Xiangyu".
In September 2019, Chang Xiangyu won the honorary title of "The Most Beautiful Strivers".
Chang Xiangyu's former residence
Today, Chang Xiangyu's former residence, a farmhouse compound composed of four caves and three bungalows, has become a local patriotic education base.
There, we seem to see Zhang Miaoling, who would rather starve to death than be a child bride, and see Chang Xiangyu, who is obsessed with the study of opera.
The Greek poet Minand once said: "There is no better comfort in the misfortune of a man's life than a skill, because when he concentrates on studying that skill, the ship has unconsciously passed through many dangers." ”
What makes Chang Xiangyu is her concentration and never stopping.