We learned from the Beijing Opera House that at about 12:00 on October 9, 2020, Mr. Tan Yuanshou, a famous Peking Opera performance artist in China and the fifth generation of the Tan School, who played the male protagonist Guo Jianguang in the modern Peking Opera movie "Sha Jiabang", died in Beijing at the age of 92.
Hearing this news, many fans of the film and drama fans are deeply saddened.
Here, let us review the artistic life of Mr. Tan Yuanshou through a group of old photos.
Mr. Tan Yuanshou once said that he had to thank too many people in his life, but he only owed one person.
Tan Yuanshou was born in 1928 to a family of pear orchards in Beijing. His great-grandfather Tan Xinpei was one of the founders of Peking Opera art in China and also created the first Peking Opera genre in China, the Tan School. In 1905, the first film made in China was "Dingjun Mountain" starring Mr. Tan Xinpei. Tan Yuanshou's father, Mr. Tan Fuying, is also a famous Peking opera artist, and his influence on Tan Yuanshou is very large.
The picture above shows the family portrait of the Tan family: the first on the right in the back row is Tan Xiaozeng, the second on the right is Tan Yuanshou, the middle seat is Tan Fuying on the right, Yang Shuzhen is on the left, and the person sitting on the sofa is Wang Zhenrong, Tan Yuanshou's wife.
Tan Yuanshou has adhered to a principle all his life, that is, to be loyal to others, to sing high-profile doors, to be low-key, to learn to suffer losses and let people, to be kind to others to have their own way, to have the way of future generations. And this is what Mr. Tan Fuying taught him.
Tan Yuanshou already had the experience of appearing on stage at the age of 5, following his father Tan Fuying to star in the first traditional drama of his life, "Fenhe Bay", and who is Danjiao's collaborator? That is Mr. Cheng Yanqiu, one of the famous "Four Famous Dans". Therefore, Mr. Tan Yuanshou started very early, and the starting point was also very high.
In 1938, Tan Yuanshou entered the Fulian Chengke Class Yuanzi Section, and the senior master Mr. Xiao Changhua gave him a name called Tan Yuanshou, and this name has accompanied him throughout his life. He studied in Fu Lian Cheng for seven years and laid a very solid foundation, so he was very grateful to Fu Lian Cheng all his life.
When Tan Yuanshou graduated from Fulian Cheng's class, he began to cooperate with many famous artists, first of all, Mr. Ye Shenglan invited him to yuhua society as a second-row old student, which gave Tan Yuanshou the opportunity to practice art. For Mr. Ye Shenglan's kindness, Tan Yuanshou is also grateful.
At the same time, Mr. Xun Huisheng, one of the "Four Famous Dans", also invited him to participate in his troupe and played a second-brand old student for Mr. Xun. What a rare and dreamy opportunity for a fledgling young man.
In 1948, when Tan Yuanshou was 20 years old, Mr. Mei Lanfang, a master of Peking Opera, called him and asked him to go to Beijing and accompany Mr. Mei Baojiu to sing the first play of his life. Mei Baojiu was only 13 years old at that time. The picture above shows the stills of Tan Yuanshou and Mei Baojiu performing together again many years later.
In 1949, after the founding of New China, Tan Yuanshou joined the Peking Opera Troupe of the General Political Department and went to Korea with the troupe to comfort the People's Liberation Army. In the early 1950s, Tan Yuanshou followed his father to join the first state-run Peking Opera Troupe in Beijing, and has since become a glorious literary and art worker.
In December 1955, the Peking Opera Troupe led by Mr. Ma Lianliang merged with the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe starring Mr. Tan Fuying and Mr. Qiu Shengrong to form the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe, in which Tan Yuanshou accepted the promotion and cultivation of Ma Lianliang, Tan Fuying, Zhang Junqiu, Qiu Shengrong, Zhao Yanxia and other masters, making him quickly grow into a skilled old man of literature and martial arts.
In 1952, he raised donations for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in Shanghai, and performed 15 consecutive performances of "Wild Boar Forest". During this period, Mr. Zhou Xinfang made a special trip to see his performance, and gave great affirmation to his performance, and also put forward some valuable opinions, which made Tan Yuanshou's skills further and benefited a lot.
Around 1958, Tan Yuanshou began to try to perform modern Peking Opera. Everyone can say that he is very familiar with Guo Jianguang in "Sha Jiabang", but his first modern play is not "Sha Jiabang". He has successively performed modern dramas such as "Wise Tiger Mountain", "Daughter of the Party", "Grassland Beacon", "Song of Youth", "Qiu Jin" and so on, which have generated great repercussions among the audience. The picture above shows the stills of Tan Yuanshou and Ma Changli when they co-starred in the modern Peking Opera "Wise Tiger Mountain".
The picture above shows Tan Yuanshou and Ma Changli performing the modern Peking Opera "Grassland Beacon": Tan Yuanshou plays Batu, and Ma Changli plays Li Danian.
In 1963, the Beijing Peking Opera Troupe decided to adapt and transplant the modern play "Ludang Tinder" created by the Shanghai Shanghai Opera Troupe into modern Peking Opera, which was originally named "Underground Liaison", with Zhao Yanxia as Ah Qingjie and Gao Baoxian as Guo Jianguang. However, after adjustment, Guo Jianguang changed the role to Tan Yuanshou and changed the title back to "Ludang Tinder", which was officially performed in 1964.
The modern Peking opera "Ludang Tinder" was very popular after it was staged, and then it was repeatedly revised, and finally became the version of the modern Peking opera "Shajiabang" that we saw.
In the 1970s, "Sha Jia Bang" was put on the screen and caused a huge sensation. Guo Jianguang, played by Tan Yuanshou, also won unanimous praise from the audience for his charming singing voice, handsome appearance, and ingenious performance. He thus became one of the most famous movie stars of his time. And the singing sections he sang, such as "Chaoxia Reflected on Yangcheng Lake", once became one of the most popular singing segments.
The modern Peking opera "Sha Jiabang" has brought many honors to Tan Yuanshou, but he has thanked Zhao Yanxia and other mentors all his life, and he can't forget the scene when they taught young people to act hand in hand.
The picture above shows Tan Yuanshou playing Guo Jianguang's shape.
The picture above is a still of "Sha Jiabang".
But in fact, Tan Yuanshou loves traditional dramas more. After the reform and opening up, the performance of traditional dramas was restored, and Tan Yuanshou was extremely excited, and successively starred in many representative works such as "Lost Air Chop", "Dingjun Mountain", "Serial Set", "Playing Gold Bricks" and so on, ushering in the peak period of his artistic creation. At the same time, it also cultivates more young talents for the development of Peking Opera.
Tan Yuanshou is a Peking Opera performance artist who grew up in a rich artistic atmosphere, in his growth process, there are many famous masters who have given him encouragement and help, so he needs to be grateful for many people in his life, in addition to the famous artists we mentioned above, there are Also Peking Opera masters Mr. Yang Xiaolou, Mr. Yu Shuyan, Mr. Shang Xiaoyun, Mr. Li Shaochun, etc., it is their sincere teachings, words and deeds, so that Tan Yuanshou has the nourishment to grow.
But there is one person, Tan Yuanshou, who feels indebted and sorry. This person is his wife Wang Zhenrong. Tan Yuanshou said that I have never done anything sorry for people in my life, but there is one person, I am sorry, that is, the old lover who accompanied me all my life, she exchanged her life for my longevity. She honored my grandfather and grandmother, served my father and mother, took care of my younger brothers and sisters, took care of my body, raised children for me, cared for the next generation, she served the Tan family for five generations, I am sorry for her. The picture above shows the family portrait of the Tan family: from right: Tan Xiaozeng, Tan Yuanshou, Tan Zhengyan, Wang Zhenrong, Yan Guixiang (Tan Xiao's former wife).
It is understood that last month, there were also netizens who met Tan Yuanshou, when the 92-year-old man wore a hat on his head, wore a blue plaid shirt, and walked on crutches, although walking slowly, but his face looked very good. But who could have predicted that, less than a month later, Old Mr. Tan suddenly left, but the world is really uncertain. The picture above is the last photo of Mr. Tan Lao's life.
Here, our greatest wish is: May Master Tan Yuanshou go all the way.
Thank you for the beautiful art he has presented us over the years.